Gold and silver got some legs today, following through in a reasonably well-behaved manner to the upside in this current trend channel, which can be easily seen on the chart.
It is challenging its old nemesis, the overhead resistance at 1270 which has been capping rallies for several weeks. I suspect gold will be breaking out to the upside once it can clear that resistance, and take a crack at running up to the top of the trend channel which is around 1310-1320 about the place where I think gold may meet it.
The cup and handle is looking good, but will not activate until we break out and stick a close through the top of this trend channel which nicely defines what is a slanted cup.
Last night I took a look at a different chart for gold that indicates that if the cup and handle does activate, it will reach its next big battle around the 1550 level, which is the lower bound of the trend channel that it had been in prior to the breakdown in price and the bear market which seems to be near ending.
Gold and silver are manipulated markets, being traded as currencies and abstractions, especially with regard to gold. As you know I am expecting the pressures on the 'gold float' to assert their dominance over the highly leveraged paper markets at some time around midyear, maybe with the June contract.
However, forecasting markets that are rigged by determined financial engineering with a relatively free hand to do naughty and perhaps even foolish things is difficult. So we ought to be prepared for a broader range of the usual outcomes from charts like these.
The buck went down today, most likely on the weaker than expected GDP estimate, and the likelihood that any Fed rate hikes will be short lived indeed.
Silver is not the leader at this point, as that role is being fulfilled by gold. I don't think that says anything about a precious metals bull market. It seems to indicate that this rally is being driven by more monetary issues particular to gold, and the structure of the physical gold market, than a general inflationary move in commodities.
You can see this if you chart up the ratios of gold to various commodities and metals with a commodity component like platinum, silver, and the CRB itself. Yes at some point that may correct, but right now gold seems to be leading, and I think there are good reasons for it that are more secular to gold and the structure to its bullion demand.
People who say that supply and demand do not apply to gold because of the big store of it above ground are making the mistake of neglecting price. And that is a big mistake. Just because gold is in a vault does not mean it is for sale at whatever price the wiseguys may choose to set for it. This does not mean that their metrics are wrong. Rather, the market is multidimensional, and in their mocking of other measures they set themselves up for the very narrow viewpoint that they deride.
So, all in all, it was a good day for the precious metals and miners. Let's see if we can build on that.
Mary was released from hospital today, and is now in a rehabilitation facility out further in 'the country' where we live which is nice. I expect she will be in there for some time but visitation is easy. Her speech is improving rapidly but she has no conscious control of her right arm or leg.
We had a bit of a shocker yesterday from the unexpected death of my father-in-law back in Ohio. That is why I said I was not sure how I might be posting. He simply died of old age, peacefully with his children at his bedside after falling ill in the morning. He was a carpenter, a veteran of the Army Air Corp during WWII in Europe, an avid golfer, of Pennsylvania Dutch (Mennonite) heritage, a simple, honourable man.
Have a pleasant evening.
