The past few months have been tough for those holding precious metals stocks, PM futures contracts or physical bullion. With silver is trading down 41%, precious metals stocks down 30% and gold 15%. It has people scratching their head.

The question everyone keeps asking is when can I buy gold and silver?

Unfortunately that is not a simple answer. With what is unfolding across the pond and the bullish outlook for the US Dollar index the next move is a coin toss. That being said, I do feel a large move brewing in the market place so I am preparing for fireworks in the first quarter of 2012.

If you step back and look at the weekly trend charts of the dollar index and the SP500 index you will see the strength in the dollar along with a possible top in equities forming. What these charts are telling is that in the next 3 months we should know if stocks and commodities are going to start another multi-month rally or roll over and start a bear market sell off.

With the holiday season nearing, hedge fund managers sitting on the sidelines just waiting for their year end performance bonuses, I cannot see any large sell off start until January. Sell offs in the market require strong volume and the second half of December is not a time of heavy trading volume.

This leaves us with a light volume holiday season, major issues overseas and no big money players willing to cause waves.

So let’s take a quick look at the charts as to where the line in the sand it for the dollar index, gold and silver.

Dollar Index Daily Chart

This week we have seen a strong shift of money out of risk on assets (Bonds) and into risk off (Stocks). This shift is happening before the dollar has broken down indicating the dollar may be topping and could be an early warning of higher stocks prices going into year end. Also note that light volume market conditions also favour higher prices.

Gold Price Daily Chart

Gold could still head lower but at this point it is holding a key support level. If we see the dollar breakdown below its green support trendline then I expect gold to have a firm bounce to the $1675 – $1700.

Silver Price Daily Chart

Silver continues to hold a key support level. If the dollar breaks down the silver should bounce to the $31.50 – $32 area. But if the dollar continues to rally then silver and gold may drop sharply.

Mid-Week Trend Conclusion:

In short, I think the best thing to do is enjoy the holiday season with family and friends. Trading right now is not that great and with the market giving mixed signals. I am keeping my eyes on the market in case it flashes a low risk setup and I will keep you informed if we get one.

I am still bearish on gold and silver longer term but the next week or so its likely we see higher prices.

Be aware that Monday is a holiday and once January arrives the market could go crazy again. If you want all my swing trades that I personally do be sure to join my alert service www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!

Cheers, /> Chris Vermeulen

With all eyes on the unemployment report and Europe, the CME Group’s PR Department nearly created an all out panic with their announcement after the market close on Friday relating to futures maintenance margin. The original statement was vague and I was quite concerned until I checked out the CME Group’s web-page and the PR Department sent an update clarifying their position. At this point I think the crisis has been averted, but this is just another reminder that we live in “interesting times.”

Keep in mind that if the CME starts raising margin rates across the board for futures contracts in order to protect themselves stocks and commodities could collapse. Silver recently has is margin rates increased and silver since then dropped 25% in value. So imagine if they raised the rates for more commodities…

The current price action in the marketplace pales in comparison to the world’s geopolitical tensions and deteriorating social mood. In my trading career, I have never seen the price action in the indices react so violently to intraday headlines and rumors. Risk is high and the types of traders profiting from this market are day traders and very short term traders with trades lasting  just a couple hours to 24 hours in length. Aggressive trading which small position sizes is all that can be done right now. This is not meant to be investment advice, but more as a function of the market environment in which we find ourselves currently trading within.

Right now it is hard to say where price action in the broader indices heads in the short-run.  One headline out of Greece or Italy could dramatically alter economic history. In the intermediate term I remain neutral to bearish for a number of reasons. One indicator I follow is the bullish percent index on the S&P 500 which at this point is arguing for lower prices.

The chart below illustrates the S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index:

As can be seen above, the S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index is presently at an overbought status. When looking at the relative strength and full stochastics indicators one would argue that a pullback is warranted. Historically when the S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index is this overbought, a pullback ensues which ultimately sees the S&P 500 Index selloff. The more arduous task is trying to determine just how deep the pullback on the S&P 500 Index might be.

It is critical to point out that while I do believe a pullback is likely, I will not rule out a rally into the holiday season. Much of the near-term price action is going to be dictated by headlines coming out of Greece and the rest of Europe. In addition to Greece, Italy is also starting to see increased concern regarding an unsustainable fiscal condition. Depending on how the European Union handles the varying degrees of risk in the near term, we could see price action react violently in either direction.

With the market capable of moving in either direction, I wanted to point out some key price levels which should act as clues regarding potential future price action in the S&P 500. The two key support levels to monitor on the S&P 500 Index are the 1,240 and 1,220 price levels.

The daily chart of the S&P 500 Index below illustrates the price levels:

For bullish traders and investors the key price level to monitor is the recent highs on the S&P 500 around the 1,290 area. The weekly chart below demonstrates why this price level is critical and which overhead levels will offer additional resistance should the recent highs be taken out to the upside.

SP500 Weekly Chart Analysis:

While I am neutral in the intermediate to longer term presently, in the short run I have to lean slightly bearish simply because of the future headline risk and also because a major head and shoulders pattern has been carved out on the hourly chart of the S&P 500 Index. This type of chart pattern is synonymous with bearish price action.

The hourly chart of the S&P 500 Index is shown below:

Right now I remain slightly bearish, but should the head and shoulders pattern fail and/or we begin to see multiple positive reactions to news coming out of Europe a strong rally into the holiday season is likely. Unfortunately all we can do is monitor the key price levels and wait patiently for Mr. Market to tip his hand.

Until we see a breakout in either direction, we could see price action inhabit the 1,220 – 1,290 price range for several weeks before we get any more clarity of future direction. Until I see a breakout, I will remain relatively neutral with a slight short term bias to the downside based on price patterns in the shorter term time frames. This is a tough market to trade in, and I don’t want to get chopped around or do any heavy lifting. I’m going to focus my attention on high probability, low risk trade setups until directional biased trades make more sense.

In closing, I will leave you with the thoughtful muse of the late Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan,

“For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future.”

Market Analysis and Thoughts By:

Chris Vermeulen – ETF Trading Videos & Trade Alerts

JW Jones – Options Trading videos & Options Alerts

This material should not be considered investment advice. Under no circumstances should any content from this article be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must in all cases be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This information is for educational purposes only.

The past couple weeks have been tough for most investors. The recent light volume rallies which have taken place in gold, oil and stocks has been generating mixed signals for technical analysts like myself. In order avoid a large draw down on your trading capital you must focus on the long term intraday charts.

What is a long term intraday chart you ask? It is simply a 4 or 8 hour candlestick or bar chart. For example the charts below in this report are 4 hour charts. So each candlestick represents 4 hours. />   /> Why should you use these long term intraday charts instead of say a daily chart? There are four main reasons for this:

1. If you used a daily chart then this information would be condensed showing you the daily high, low, open and closing prices. While the 4 hour futures chart shows you large multi intraday chart patterns that most traders would never see…  Patterns not seen by the average investor have a higher probability of working in your favour. Also these patterns are much larger than just normal intraday patterns which you see on the 5, 10, or 60 minute charts. Remember the larger the pattern the more potential profit there will be.

2. These longer time frames allow us to follow gold, silver, oil and stock indexes around the clock 24/7 using futures contracts. Think about it… regular trading hours from 9:30am – 4pm ET only allows you to see 1/3rd of the price action each day. That means you are only seeing parts of larger patterns while the 24/7 contracts show you ALL Price Action.

3. The last reason you must use futures charts is for the volume readings. Futures show real volume levels which can be used for trading. So the volume you see on ETFs will not have the proper volume levels for that specific commodity or index. More times than not it almost the opposite…

4. My last reason for trading long term intraday futures charts is because the price of the underlying commodity or index moves true while the ETFs which try to shadow these commodities generate false breakouts and breakdowns on a regular basis. Watch my video about this here: http://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/ETF-trading-videos/TTTOct19Oil/index.html

Let’s take a look at the charts…

Gold Futures Contract – 240 Minute (4 Hour) Chart

Gold finally broke down from the bearish rising wedge which it had been forming through late September until mid October. I know the majority of traders, investors, and financial newsletters have already positioned themselves either long or short the metal as they anticipate the next major move.

I will agree that a large move either up or down is just around the corner but what sets me apart from others is the fact that I don’t bet my hard earned money when the odds are 50/50. I don’t pick tops or bottoms; rather I wait for a clean break out or low risk entry point. Only then will I take action. Until the blue box on the chart has been broken with some type of retest I will continue to observe and analyze the chart of gold.

Crude Oil Futures Contract – 240 Minute (4 Hour) Chart /> /> The past month crude oil trading has been very profitable for subscribers and me. We shorted crude oil using an inverse etf in September which moved over 20% in our favour within a few trading sessions. And just last week we shorted it again for a 7.5% move in less than 24 hours.

Overall I am still bearish on oil but have moved to cash until I see another high probability setup unfolding. The recent price action in crude oil makes the odds about a 50/50 bet as to which way it will break next. This is why I have moved back to cash and pocketed the quick gain.

SP500 Exchange Traded Fund – 240 Minute (4 Hour) Chart /> /> This chart is not the SP500 futures contract. This is just the SPY ETF but what I wanted to show was how the market was showing mixed signals. The past couple weeks price has been broadening and this can be taken two different ways…

More times than not it is seen as a bearish pattern and price generally falls afterwards. But in rare situations which I think we could be experiencing now this broadening price action can be very bullish, meaning much higher prices ahead. So I continue to observe and prepare for a possible trade setup.

Weekend Gold, Oil and Stocks Trend Conclusion:

In short, I feel the market is on the verge of a strong move. The problem is that price action, market sentiment and economic news are all giving mixed signals…

The best position right now is in cash and if something unfolds this week to our favour, then we will get involved but I am not going to take a 50/50 guess on what the next move is until the odds are in favour to one side or the other.

August until now (October 24) the SP500 is down -3.7% and Gold is up 1.1%, Silver is down 20% and oil is down -7.2. Subscribers of my newsletter have pocketed over 38.5% in total gains using my simple low risk ETF trading alerts.

Get My FREE Bi-Weekly Trading Reports and Videos by joining my free newsletter here: www.GoldAndOilGuy.com /> Chris Vermeulen

I hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day weekend. I truly enjoyed myself and was able to have some creativity with my 18 month daughter. I got some new office chairs last week and I finally had time to assemble them during the rainy and windy black Monday here in Canada… Just like a child on their birthday, I tossed the chair parts aside and played with the large boxes with Mirabelle.

With the black clouds rolling overhead, waves pounding the shoreline, rain gushing off the roof, and a pirate book sitting on the coffee table. It was only an hour later which Mirabelle was riding a huge cardboard pirate ship across the room AArrrr’n everything… So I truly enjoyed my day off with the family to say the least

Ok back to the market…

So after I built the Brown Pearl I jumped on the computer so see what the futures market was up to. The good news was that our short trade on the equities market was up 10% from our entry point last week. The bad news was that the stock market overseas was selling off big and so were US stocks. It was a black Monday in both the sky and on the screen…

I’m not really sure how many people watch the futures market but I do know the majority of people do not. So Tuesday morning there will be a lot of people in a panic when they see stocks gap down sharply.

Taking a look at the 4 hour charts you can see the recent price action which unfolded today. We have been anticipating this from early last week. So none of this should be a surprise.

Dollar Index 4 Hour Chart:

The dollar index broke out of it falling pattern and has made a run up to the first resistance level of 75.40. I feel we could see it go a little higher on Tuesday but overall it looks ready for a pause or pullback here.

SP500 Futures 4 Hour Chart:

The equities market has fallen sharply in the past week and the green circle is where we shorted the market using the SDS etf. We did take partial profits last week to lock in 7.4% profit in a couple days, but we still hold the balance of the position which is currently up over 10% using today’s futures price.

The SP500 looks to be getting oversold here and is now entering the previous low set a few weeks back. I will be looking to tighten stops and or exit the position early this week before a sharp rebound takes place.

Bond Futures 4 Hour Chart:

Bonds are a safe haven for investors when fear is running high. The past couple trading session’s the price of bonds have shot up. This tells me panic selling in the stocks market has starting and that generally means we are nearing and tradable bottom for stocks…

Gold Futures 4 Hour Chart:

Gold is the other safe haven. Here again we see money flow into gold at a very quick pace… We will need to see some resolutions in Euro-land before gold will trade lower or sideways, but until then I think scared money is going to keep rolling into gold.

Crude Oil Futures 4 Hour Chart:

Oil has drifted its way up into a resistance level as of late last week only to find overhead supply. Once the selling started oil slid lower at a steady rate all the way back down to a short term support zone. Now we are waiting to see if it will make a double bottom at $79 or bounce here

Weekend Trading Conclusion:

In short, Tuesday will be a volatile session judging from today’s sharp price action. Fear is driving prices at the moment and until everyone panics out of stock positions and dumps their money into the save havens we will not see a bottom form. Generally this takes 2-5 days to play out but time will tell.

I hope this quick Labor Day update helps get you back on track for trading this week. 

 

Consider joining me at TheGoldAndOilGuy for ETF trade ideas on the SP500, Oil, Gold, and Silver with great accuracy. Check it out at

Chris Vermeulen

http://www.thegoldandoilguy.com/free-preview.php