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My trading partner JW and I had a great talk the other day which spurred to the creation of this interesting and educational gold futures trading article we wanted to share with you.

Throughout most of 2013, gold futures have been under major selling pressure. Gold opened the year trading around $1,675 per ounce. As of the 12/02/13 close, gold futures were trading around $1,220 per ounce which would mean that thus far in 2013, gold futures have lost more than 27% of their value.

Looking back to September of 2011, gold’s all time high came in around $1,923 per ounce. In a little more than 2 years, gold prices have dropped around $700 per ounce representing a total loss of more than 36% based on the 12/02/13 closing price. I would say most analysts would agree that gold has been in a bear market over the past two years.

Before we begin looking at a few ways to use the gold etf GLD option structures to take advantage of higher future prices in the yellow metal, I thought I would focus readers’ attention on some bullish fundamental data for gold. Let us begin with a chart of the Federal Reserve’s Total Assets which is shown below.

Chart1 (4)

The data shown above comes directly from the Federal Reserve’s public database itself. Essentially, this is the Fed’s balance sheet and its obvious that the money printing has gone parabolic. The Federal Reserve prints money to purchase Treasuries and mortgage backed securities which end up on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet.

Interestingly enough, the chart above illustrates the amount of money the Federal Reserve has been printing since the beginning of 2011. The chart below illustrates the price of gold futures during the same period.

Chart2 (3)

Gold futures have moved lower in price while the Federal Reserve has printed an unprecedented amount of money through the quantitative easing program. It has been pointed out that the flow of liquidity is more important than the total money stock, but these two charts when viewed together are rather odd at the very least. However, we must all continue to remind ourselves that there is no manipulation of any kind going on . . .

Another odd situation has developed regarding the gold miners and the price of gold relative to production costs. The gold spot price has essentially moved down below the average 2013 cash cost of $1,250 – $1,300 per ounce. Price action in gold futures is rapidly approaching the marginal cost to produce gold which is around $1,125. The chart of the various gold production costs is shown below.

Chart3 (1)
Chart Courtesy of zerohedge.com

Gold prices closed on 12/02/2013 at $1,218 per ounce. Based on the closing price, gold futures are less than $100 per ounce away from the marginal cost to produce gold. If the yellow metal’s price moves below the cash and marginal cost of production gold mining volumes world wide will begin to decline.

The gold miners have likely already started lowering their production levels at current prices. The production slow down would only accelerate should prices move down below the marginal cost of production. I believe that these production costs will help put a floor underneath gold prices in the longer-term.

It is widely known that there is strong current demand for physical gold coming from Russia, India, and China. If the gold miners began to slow production levels considerably it is likely that physical gold prices could explode to the upside.

Should production levels decline while demand remains at the same level all of the manipulation in the world could not stop gold prices from arriving at their natural market based price. I think most readers and analysts would agree that the natural market based price is higher, not lower from the marginal and cash costs of production.

As many readers know, my primary focus as a trader is in the world of options where I focus primarily on implied volatility and probabilities to formulate new positions. Unfortunately options on gold futures are fairly limited and are not actively traded. However, the options on the gold ETF GLD are very liquid.

With the longer term fundamentals intact, I thought I would post a few possible trading ideas using GLD options to get long GLD while giving the trader some duration to allow for the time needed for the trade to work.

A fairly cheap way to construct a longer-term bullish position in GLD would be to look at a June 2014 Call Debit Spread or a June 2014 Broken-Wing Call Butterfly Spread.

These trade structures use multi-legged constructions and would essentially allow traders to get long GLD.

Due to the inherent leverage built into options, these positions would not require near as much capital as buying an equity stake in GLD or being long gold futures. The trade structures mentioned above would also mitigate Theta risk, also known as time decay so the passage of time would not have a significant impact on the trade’s overall profitability.

In fact, both of these trade structures would actually benefit from the passage of time in terms of profitability down the road. There are a variety of other trade structures that could be used to benefit from higher prices in GLD while simultaneously capitalizing on the passage of time as a profitability engine. Each trade construction carries a variety of different potential risks as well as required capital outlay or margin encumbrance.

I want to be clear in stating that these trade structures are purely for educational purposes and should not be considered a solicitation or investment advice. Whether we are discussing gold futures, GLD, or GLD options these are all paper investments and they should not be viewed as a substitute for physical gold holdings. Physical gold would likely benefit the most from any supply shock in the future.

In closing, I believe that the fundamental picture for gold is improving by the day. While more downside is likely in the near-term, the longer-term picture for higher gold prices in 2014 and beyond seems quite likely.

In a world where central banks are printing fiat currency at record rates, at some point in the future physical gold prices will no longer be able to be held back from true price discovery.

To learn more about probability based option trading, consider becoming a member of www.OptionsTradingSignals.com for a totally different view of the markets and how to trade options for consistent profitability over the longer-term.

By: JW Jones & Chris Vermeulen






 

 

 

This material should not be considered investment advice. J.W. Jones is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this article or the OptionsTradingSignals.com website 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. 

Over the past year we have had some really interesting things unfold in the market. Investing or even swing trading has been much more difficult because of all the wild economic data and daily headline news from all over the globe causing strong surges or sell offs almost every week.

For a while there you could not hold a position for more than a week without some type of news event moving the market enough to either push you deep in the money or get stopped out for a loss. This has unfortunately caused a lot of individuals to give up on trading which is not a good sign for the financial market as a whole.

The key to navigating stocks which everyone thinks are overbought is to trade small position sizes and focus on the shorter time frames like the 4 hour charts. This chart is my secret weapon and giving you both large price swings which daily chart traders focus on while also showing clear intraday patterns to spot reversals or continuation patterns with precise entry/exit points.

While I could ramble on about why the stock market is primed for major long term growth from this point forward I will keep things short and simple with some 4 hour and daily charts for you to see what I see and what I am thinking should unfold moving forward.

Keep in mind, the most accurate trading opportunities that happen week after week are the quick shifts in sentiment which only last 2-5 days at most which is what most of my charts below are focusing on…

Dollar Index – 4 Hour Chart

This chart shows a mini Head & Shoulders reversal pattern and likely target over the next five sessions. The dollar index has been driving the market for the past couple years so a lower dollar means higher stock and commodity prices.

Dollar Index Trading

Bond Futures – 4 Hour Chart

Money has been flowing into bonds for the past couple weeks with most traders and investors expecting a strong correction in stocks. As you can see the price of bonds hit resistance this week and as of Thursday has now started selling off. Money flowing out of this “Risk Off” asset means money will move to the “Risk On” investments like stocks and commodities.

Bond Futures Trading

Gold Futures – Daily Chart

Gold is stuck in both categories in my opinion. It is a “Risk Off” safe haven when people are scared of falling stock prices, and it is also a “Risk On” speculative investment when people are feeling good about the market. Gold has been trading at key resistance for a couple weeks and looks as though it’s starting its next rally.

Gold Futures Trading

Silver Futures – Daily Chart

Silver is in the same boat as gold though it carries much more volatility than gold. Expect 2-4% swings regularly and sloppy chart patterns in this metal.

Silver Futures Trading

SP500 Futures – Daily Chart

As much as everyone hates to buy stocks up at these lofty prices I hate to say it but I think they are going to keep going up and they could do this for a long time yet. If the dollar index continues to break down then I expect the SP500 to rally another 3% from here (1500) in the next 1-2 weeks.

SP500 Futures Trading

Crude Oil Futures – 4 Hour Chart

Crude oil has not had much attention from me in the past few months. While it has had big price action many of those big days took place on news causing an instant price movement making this extra dangerous to trade. I continue to watch rather than get attached to it.

Crude Oil Futures Trading

Natural Gas Futures – Daily Chart

Natural gas has been a great performer for us in the past 6 months as all the short positions slowly get covered. I just closed out my natural gas ETF trade this week with a 31.9% gain and plan on getting back in once the chart provides another low risk setup.

Natural Gas Futures Trading

Trading Conclusion:

In short, I feel the dollar index along with bonds will correct over the next few weeks. That will trigger buying in stocks and commodities. Keep in mind natural gas dances to its own drum beat. The dollar does not have much affect on its price and most times natural gas is doing the opposite of the broad market. Get My Pre-Market Trading Analysis Video and Intraday Chart Analysis EVERY DAY – www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

It’s been a very exciting week so far for gold and SP500 traders as we take advantage of mass crowd behavior. Trading against the masses can be very profitable during certain situations but more times than not it’s a great way to lose money which is why I focus on taking the opposite side of these moves.

This week I decided to do the mid week report in a video format which I think not only saves everyone time but also allows me to get more information over to you. The video shows a low risk gold setup and a low risk SP500 trading setup which I think will open your eyes to some new things.

Last week we took a long position in gold at $1180-85 level buying near the bottom as investors panicked out of their positions. Using market internals, sentiment readings and my own special blend of technical analysis to find these low risk setups which pack a powerful punch when traded correctly.

The chart below shows gold from its bull market in 2009 right through to the current rally, which is making us some decent money. While I am bullish on gold and feel it will eventually reach $1400 per ounce I do think there will be several more opportunities to cash in on gold’s price action as this rally matures… I explain more in the video below.

Gold & SP500 Low Risk Trading Setups


Click Here to View the Video: http://www.futurestradingsignals.com/trading-education/gold-and-es-futures-trading-video/

Mid-Week Low Risk Gold & SP500 Trading Conclusion:

I hope you enjoyed the video as I showed you some important trading tools for helping to trade extreme conditions in the market. As my buddy from ActiveTradingPartners.com always says “Buy when they Cry, Sell when the Yell” which is exactly what needs to be done in order to profit from the market month after month.

If you would like to get my Low Risk yet Powerful Trading Alerts be sure to checkout my service at www.FuturesTradingSignals.com

Chris Vermeulen

Wednesday May 26th
It’s been an exciting week for traders as volatility levels are through the roof and the broad market is moving up and down like a yoyo. You cannot take your eyes off the screen if you have a large amount of money invested as you can quickly find yourself with a large profit or loss in the matter of minutes….

Although we have seen stocks jump around the past few days precious metals have held strong with very little volatility. This is because of the economic fears looming for the US and other countries of possible financial collapse. This fear is helping to boost gold and silver prices because they are seen as the safe haven. Also we are seeing money move in the US dollar because the country is still seen as a leader in many ways helping to boost the US dollar.

Below are a couple charts on Gold and Silver ETF’s showing the end of last years rally and the correction in prices which are now looking to setting up for another leg higher.

GLD – Gold ETF Trading Vehicle – Daily Chart

I called this chart “The Golden Correction” because it literally is. We saw prices rally late in 2009 finishing off with a parabolic spike which we know is not sustainable and almost always results in a VERY sharp drop. This correction unfolded as planned with an ABC retrace which shakes out weak positions. We then we saw a reverse head & shoulders pattern form which again also shakes out weak positions. Once the neckline was broken from the reverse H & S the new up trend was started providing a couple trading opportunities for us along the way. The most recent low risk entry point can be seen on the chart as gold prices dropped back to a key support level.

ETF Trading Newsletter

Gold Futures Price – 60 Minute Day Trading Chart

Gold has been showing some very bullish price action the past week forming several mini bull flags with confirming volume levels. I think we should see gold pop another $5-10 bucks in the very near future if not continue higher for several days.

Index ETF Trading Newsletter

SLV – Silver ETF Trading Vehicle – Daily Chart

Silver formed much of the same patterns as gold but with much more volatility. Also silver has yet to break the 2009 high which is surprising but with a large part of silver being use for industrial purposes it does make sense as the economy is not as strong as it was thought to be in 2009. Silver carries much more risk when trading because it has more random moves and increased volatility.

ETF Trading Strategy

Mid-Week Precious Metals Trading Conclusion:

In short, gold and silver are in an uptrend and looking strong. Both are currently trading at short term resistance levels on the daily chart which has caused them to stop moving up today (Wednesday May 26th) but on an intraday basis they look solid and could break though these resistance levels.

That being said buying way up here adds a lot more risk because a good chunk of the move has already been made and if prices do roll over and start heading back down the next support level is several percentage points away for placing a protective stop with the proper amount of wiggle room.

If Trading Gold, Silver and Index Futures and ETFs interested you check out my trading services at www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

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Jan 31, 2010
The past two months have been tough on the precious metals sector. We saw precious metals lead the market higher all of last year until December 2009 when prices plummeted as the US Dollar started to bounce. The continued rise in stocks indicated an extreme overbought condition and alerted us that a sharp pullback was going to take place.

Many traders including myself were surprised that the broad market did not sell down with the metals. In December the market looked and felt ready for a sharp pullback but new money continued to flow into stocks, pushing the market higher. This slow and steady grind higher was very frustrating to watch because the market was making new highs day after day while obviously needing to take a breather at any time.

It’s this grind higher that sucks in the last retail buyers before prices collapse, unfortunately leaving many holding overpriced securities and commodities for sale another day.

Since gold lead the market up last year it should be the first to correct and also pullback quicker and deeper than its followers (stock market). This is what we are seeing now which I explain below using charts.

HUI – Gold Stock Index – Monthly Gold Trading Chart
I use this exact month chart for helping to time long term trends for gold and gold stocks. It looks as though we have temporarily formed a double top with this current breakdown. It will most likely take several months to repair the damage done to this chart and possibly more than a year.

There are two options for this chart:
1 – It will form a bullish flag or pennant then continue its move higher.

2 – Or will continue to slide, indicating sellers are in control and that we are looking at a multi year trading range as the market digests the 10 year rally in gold.

The HUI:GOLD Ratio – Weekly Gold Trading Chart
This chart goes up if gold stocks are out performing the price of gold and down if they are underperforming. From 2001 – 2006 the chart looked very bullish but as time went on the ratio really started to look weaker and weaker.

The 2008 meltdown crushed precious metal stocks and the recent rally back up to resistance looks very bearish. It looks like a large bear market rally (test of breakdown level). This also goes for the monthly chart above. I cannot say either chart is looking bullish anymore. Things really depend on how strong the next bounce/rally is so we can gauge the strength behind the move (dead cat bounce, or legitimate rally).

Gold GLD ETF – Daily GLD Trading Chart
The next three charts really pull things together in my opinion in terms of how much selling is left in the market on the daily chart time frame.

Here I have drawn on a daily chart showing what I figure will unfold over time. This is the same pattern that I have been talking about since early December. I love trading ABC retrace patterns because of their accuracy and follow through on trend reversals.

In short, if we see gold break this support level then traders are going to panic out of the market sending the GLD fund towards the $101-$103 level. This panic selling is exactly what is needed if we want to see gold continue a sustainable and strong bull market rally higher.

Silver SLV ETF – Silver Trading Chart
Silver has been a little more difficult to trade as the chart clearly shows the choppy price action. I feel that if silver breaks this level of support we should expect to see $14-$14.50 quickly.

US Dollar Trading – Daily Dollar Trading Chart
This chart pulls the above GLD and SLV charts together. Both gold and silver have more room to fall before reaching a major support level. Knowing that and looking at this chart of the Dollar you can see the Dollar has approximately the same amount of room to rally.

So in a perfect trading scenario, the dollar will continue to climb for a few more days to reach resistance and in return that will push gold and silver down for a few more days.

Precious Metals Trading Conclusion:
I think this week will be a pivotal one. I can see the dollar moving higher sending precious metals and stocks down enough to shake traders out of their long positions in gold, silver and stocks. Once the sentiment turns bearish we will begin looking for an oversold speculative trade and possibly a low risk trend trade setup.

As for the energy sector, both crude oil and natural gas look weak and I continue to patiently await a low risk setup for each.

If you would like to get my Gold Newsletter please join here:

Chris Vermeulen
www.GoldAndOilGuy.com

Jan 29th, 2010
I thought I would put this more detailed report on finding and trading low risk setups for gold, silver, oil indexes etc…. In short it does not matter what time frame you trade with or if you trade exchange traded funds, futures contracts or CFD’s (contract of difference).

This type of trading setup works for virtually every investment but I mainly focus on trading: Gold Futures, Gold ETFs, Gold CFD’s, and the SP500 & Dow 30 futures, ETF’s and CFD’s as I find they are very accurate and profitable.

Obviously swing traders who watch the daily chart will have few trades because it takes weeks and months for these low risk patterns to form. This is the reason I am using short term intraday charts and using a setup from yesterday (Thursday) for demonstrating my trading setups.

My Short Trading Setup – Rough Guideline
1. Trend on 2hour and 1hour charts are down
2. Increased volume during sell offs, and light volume on rallies/rising prices
3. Entry is best at Fibonacci retracement level which is also at a previous resistance level.
4. Set Stop just above the resistance level you are expecting the current price to stop at. Exit if this top is penetrated and wait for a new opportunity.
5. Cover half of your position just before the investment reaches the first level of support to lock in gains and reduce overall risk.
6. Once the price of the investment starts to make a new short term high exit the balance of the position. Shown in the charts below.

DIA – Dow 30 Index Fund
This is a chart I sent to members on Thursday pointing out the market weakness. We had a nice sell off in the morning and the price drifted up on light volume later in the afternoon. This low volume drift is crucial to recognize as it tells you the general public is buying. This is what Big Money likes to see. After they crush the market with their large sell orders in the morning they take a break allowing regular retail traders/investors move the market back up before the big sellers start dumping shares again.

So, I am looking to short at a resistance level in hope the big sellers step back in.

DIA – Dow 30 Index Fund – End of Day
This chart quickly shows the two intraday setups for shorting at resistance levels. Both trades worked out well but wait until you see the results of trading with futures or CFD’s shown later.

Anyways, the first short was a great play but we did not see the big sellers step in, which led to a reversal and the price continued to move higher taking us out for a small profit.

The second short had huge selling volume indicating sellers were back in control. This play we held into the close. The next chart shows how this is done.

DIA – Dow 30 Index Fund – Step By Step Play
The chart is a little small to see but it explains and shows how these low risk setups should have been traded according to my trading strategy to maximize gains while minimizing risk.

Dow 30 Futures & CFD Day Trading Signals/Setups
This is the same Dow 30 index but is zoomed out so we can take advantage of the 24 hour price action which the futures market trades.

Here I show the Fibonacci retracement levels which happen to be at resistance levels from earlier that day.

During regular trading hours the trades were the same as the DIA etf above, but with futures trading you can traded 24 hours a day. So with the last ETF trade I talked about earlier we only made 28 cents profit per share, but with futures we could have held this position until it fully matured netting a total gain of 40 cents per share. This is 42% more profit simply by trading with futures or CFD’s.

To make things more exciting there happened to be another fantastic trade after dinner making us another 45 cent move. These gains may not sound like much but it equals $1000 – $3000 in profits depending on what you are trading ETF’s, Futures contracts, or CFD’s.

End of the Week Trading Education and Wrap Up:
Overall this week was nothing short of awesome!
The overall market is trying to hold up but sellers continue to pull it lower. Unless there is a strong rally into the close on Friday I figure Monday will gap down because the daily charts are very scary looking. This is what makes the general public panic out as it flushes out the remaining sellers, just before the market makes a sizable bounce and possible rally to new highs.

If you are interested in getting more intraday analysis and setups be sure to join my free newsletter for Day Trading:

Chris Vermeulen
www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

Jan 18th, 2010

Whether you are trading stocks, ETFs or futures, technical analysis is the preferred choice for short term traders. Technical analysis in short is the study of price and volume movements on charts. It can be used for studying charts in any time frame whether you are a 1 minute chartist or a long term investor using monthly charts.

Using technical analysis in my opinion really opens the door for a trader to lower his/her overall risk when investing money. I always like to know if the investments I am watching are trading near a critical price level (support or resistance). During these times you can take positions that have very clear entry and exit points for trading. Also it puts the odds in your favor when a position is entered in the same direction of the underlying trend.

Price action is how we make money in the market, so I strictly follow price and volume when trading as they are the least lagging indicator on what the market it doing.

I have put together a few charts using commodity ETFs to show you what I am seeing in the market and what we should expect to see in the coming days.

GLD ETF Trader – Daily Trend Chart

The gold trading chart below shows two different types of trends. The initial timeframe of the chart illustrates what I call a Normal Trend. This is a series of higher highs and lows.

This type of trend allows an investment to continue profitably for a very long period of time. For example a daily chart like the one below can continue to trend like this for 6-8 months. The reason for this is because price appreciation is increasing at a rate which investors are comfortable with. Also, the pullbacks cleanse the investment vehicle of weak traders every few weeks allowing fresh money to enter at higher price.

Now if you look at the later timeframe of this rally we observe a rally phase I call an Extended Rally. An extended rally is when price appreciates without any pullbacks.

You can make a fortune with this trend very quickly, but you must realize that reversals are fast and sharp. And that, we observe, is how GLD performed in December. While some call December’s price drop a pullback, I call it a technical breakdown. The sharp price reversal and heavy volume associated with this type of move generally provides excellent short term momentum trades. A lot of damage is done to the investment on a heavy volume breakdown taking weeks for a recovering to occur.

Normal trend rally, extended rally, predictably fast and sharp technical breakdown followed by weeks of recovery.
Trade GLD ETF

DIA Exchange Traded Fund – Daily Trend Trading

The DIA exchange traded fund shows a very similar chart as gold above. First we have a nice Normal Trend that then evolved into an Extended Trend. The trend for the DIA index fund is not nearly as steep at the gold chart, so it could trend a little longer. But once the price breaks down, everyone is going to be selling out to lock in gains and cut losses before new positions are entered.

I have several tools and stats I use for helping me in timing turning points. Some are great short term indicators only predicting 1-2 days out like following small cap stocks, or gold stocks in relation to the broad index, and others are long term things like cycles, volume analysis, market internals and the volatility index.

My point here is to keep everyone alert and ready to take profits if we see things start to roll over. Friday there was BIG selling volume across the board – so don’t blink now.
Trading DIA ETF

Silver & Gold ETF Trading – Daily Charts

Below is the chart of the silver ETF SLV and I overlaid the GLD gold fund in green so you can see how they move in sync. The blue boxes on the chart show the pattern that I think is forming and what to expect in the coming days.

From looking at gold in both other currencies and with respect to gold stocks which have been underperforming, I feel we are going to see lower prices still. At the moment I am neutral on silver and gold for the short term time frame (daily & 60 minute charts).
Exchange Traded Fund for Silver

USO Crude Oil Fund – Daily Trend Chart

Oil has slid lower the past 5 sessions and is now nearing a support level. This has me looking for an oversold bounce with the potential to rally much higher. I am keeping an eye on this for any possible low risk setup.
USO Oil fund Trader

UNG Natural Gas Fund – Daily Trading Chart

While UNG is not a great intermediate and long term fund to invest in, I do find it trades very nicely for intraday and short swing trades. I am neutral on natural gas for the time being. It could go either way from here and I’m not willing to take on a 50/50 probability trade. Let’s wait for something exciting to form.
Natural Gas UNG Trader

Commodity Trading Conclusion:
In short, gold and silver have been underperforming the market recently which is not what we want to see. They have led the market higher all year but are now taking a breather.

The way I see gold, silver, oil and natural gas is that they are trading below their recent highs and still have more room to fall before landing on a solid support level.

The stock market is now over extended and looks ready for a sharp correction. If this happens we will see commodities drop and test lower prices also.

There is not much we can do right now other than protect our current long positions by tightening our stops. Depending on the strength of the breakdown, there could be a great opportunity for short term traders (60 minute chart traders) to make some quick money. I expect a sell off which will last 3-5 days at the least.

If you would like to receive my Free Technical Trading Newsletter for ETFS  and Futures please visit my website: www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

The commodity futures charts and gold precious metal stocks have be trading with increased volatility as they bounce between support and resistance levels on the daily and hourly charts.

This report is focused more on technical analysis and charts so that I can show you what I feel these commodities are lining up to do.

GDX ETF – Daily Trading Chart
I posted this chart Monday afternoon to members as a short educational piece and to give warning to those where were currently in short term long positions. This chart clearly shows that when the short term trend is up and we get a black candle (Pop & Drop) the odds tell us that we should see lower prices over the next 24 – 48 hours for silver and gold.

This type of price action may look easy to trade, which it is, but only day traders and even better yet futures traders, can make the most when these setups occur. It doesn’t get anymore exciting than Trading after hours with commodity futures.

The nice thing about trading futures is that charts run around the clock 24 hours a day so you do not get price gaps that miss most of the short term low risk plays. Investment vehicles on the NYSE are limited to trading from 9:30am – 4pm and that really does cut down in the amount of low risk trade setups we get on a monthly basis.
GDX

Silver Commodity Trading Contract YI – Daily Chart
Silver has been tougher to trade than gold recently. Percentage moves are much larger with silver adding more potential risk to buyers and sellers. In addition, silver is not trending strongly like its big sister gold and this adds another level of difficulty. Profits should be taken quickly during this type of price action.

Silver Futures Trading

Silver Futures Trading

Gold Futures Trading YG Contract – Hourly Chart
Gold is my favorite and most profitable investment vehicle. I trade gold using the GLD etf and futures. Last week I wrote about this key resistance level and how I was waiting to trade until the Friday unemployment numbers were out and to see how the market reacted before putting our money to work. Over the weekend the bullish sentiment caused gold to gap above that key resistance level but has sold back down after beginning the new week.

The chart below shows that I am neutral/bearish for the next few days. Heavy selling and the small bear flag is warning me of lower prices. The natural tendency for gold is to drift higher through the night from 6pm EST – 4am EST, so we could see higher prices in the short term but what happens in the following 1-3 days will set the tone for gold.

Gold Futures Trading

Gold Futures Trading

Crude Oil Futures Trading CL – Daily Chart
Oil has pulled back the past few days and is now trading near a support level. I feel it is over sold and could bounce the second half of this week and I will keep my eye on it for members.

Crude Oil Futures Trading

Crude Oil Futures Trading

Natural Gas Futures Trading NG – Daily Chart
Nat gas is the most deadly commodity I know for the uneducated trader. The price swings are wild and WILL trigger you stops no matter where you put them almost. The whipsaw action always seems to form a Mega Phone pattern which means there are higher highs and lower lows during key pivot points forcing shorts to keep coving their positions and longs to keep getting stopped out as they try to protect their down side risk.

I rarely trade Natural Gas because of this. The stats I’ve heard are that almost everyone who actively trades natural gas will lose their money within 3 months. Yikes! So this is why I am so picky trading it.

The current price of NG is trading in the middle of is range. Entering a trade here is 50/50 and just not worth the risk.

Natural Gas Futures Trading

Natural Gas Futures Trading

Commodity Futures Trading Conclusion:
There are not too many exciting things in the market right now. We continue to watch stocks and commodities work through their patterns and cycles as we just jump in and out of the market when the timing is right. It’s like a large game of double Dutch skipping, just have to time the monitor the patterns, speed and cycles so you lower the odds of getting hit.

If you would like to receive my Free Weekly Trading Reports, please visit my website.

Chris Vermeulen
www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

Well, here we are with only hours left before the year is over. Virtually every investment is up other than the US dollar.

Not much has changed since my last gold market trends report. But I have provided some interesting charts that show us what is possible in the coming weeks for the dollar, gold and natural gas.

US Dollar Trend Analysis – Resistance Levels
The dollar has shown some strength in the past month. It was a no brainer trade for 2009. You were either long gold or short the dollar. The chart below shows the key resistance levels for the $USD. I have a feeling we are going to see the dollar test the 80 -81 levels before rolling over and heading south again.

If this happens then gold and silver will continue to pull back. I am actually hoping the dollar moves higher and gold drops back to test the $1000-1060 level. This would clear the way for gold and the dollar to continue with their longer term trends with increased momentum (dollar collapses, gold goes parabolic).
Dollar Trend

GLD Gold ETF – Daily Chart
The daily gold swing trading chart is really starting to look attractive for a buy signal. Depending on what the US dollar does in the coming days will set the tone for gold.

We could see gold start to rally starting tomorrow or it will become volatile and start to sell off sharply in the coming days. Right now we have very light volume so any moves/breakouts cannot be taken seriously or with a large position.

If the dollar starts to rally we could see the GLD ETF drop to the $97.50 – $103 level.
Gold Trend Trading

Spot Gold Trend Analysis – 18 Day, 1hr Bar Chart
Starting in 2010 I will be providing futures trading analysis and signals so I thought I would provide a chart of the spot gold trend I have been day trading over the holidays.

This may seem like I am going against my #1 trading Rule – Never Trade Against the Trend, but the trend changes depending on time frame and trading style you are using. In short, gold reversed very strong 18 days ago just as we anticipated it would. The selling momentum was so strong it made for excellent gold futures day trading setups which I took advantage of over the past 10 trading days.

The chart below is of the 100 ounce gold GC Feb 10 futures contract which I traded. The chart is shrunk down and does not show my setups, nor does the chart look very sexy, but it clearly shows the direction of the trend and the BIG SELLING VOLUME.

The table shows my recent trades and if you take a close look all of the trades I did were Short Trades. Because the momentum and trend is down on this time frame I only traded perfect short setups (profiting from gold as it loses value).
Gold Futures Trading

UNG Natural Gas Trading Fund
UNG appears to be trading at resistance and starting to look like its rolling over. It did move above last weeks high which voids the reversal candle we had Tuesday and Thursday, or else it would have been a short setup for us. I don’t chase a trade, that’s my #2 rule, so I am waiting for a possible bounce here, test of resistance then another reversal back down.
Natural Gas Trends

Commodity & ETF Year End Trends:
In short, we continue the waiting game for more setups in the coming weeks as volatility and volume creep back into the market. The dollar and gold are currently trading at pivot points and no one knows which way to play them.

Trading futures run virtually 24 hours a day and have provided some excellent trading opportunities that I will be providing in the coming weeks for traders.

Natural Gas is trading at pivot point and looking ready for another move down.

Crude oil and the board market I feel will top out in the next 2-5 days but nothing worth putting any money on at this time.

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and support over the past 12 months. I wish you all a happy and safe New Years!

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Chris Vermeulen
www.GoldAndOilGuy.com – Gold Trend Analysis & Signals