Gold rallies while treasury yields fall

Gold is testing short-term resistance at $1440. Bear market rallies are notoriously unreliable and reversal below $1400 would warn of another down-swing. Breach of $1330 would confirm another decline, with the next major support level at the 2008 high of $1000.

Spot Gold

* Target calculation: 1550 – ( 1800 – 1550 ) = 1300

I am still bullish on gold in the long-term. We face a decade of easy monetary policy from central banks, with competing devaluations as nations struggle to recover at the expense of each other. This WSJ interview with PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian offers a realistic long-term outlook.

Dollar Index

There has been no major strengthening of the Dollar, which one would expect if gold’s fall was caused by revision of the market’s  inflation outlook. The primary trend is up, but so far resistance at 84.00 has held. Breakout would signal an advance to 89.00/90.00.

Dollar Index

Treasury Yields

Ten-year treasury yields continue to test support at 1.70%. Follow-through below 1.65% would test the July 2012 low at 1.40%. Prior to 2012, the 1945 low of 1.70% at the end of WWII was the lowest level in the 200 year history of the US Treasury. Money flowing back into treasuries is a bearish sign for stocks.

Dollar Index

Crude Oil

Brent Crude is falling sharply, while Nymex WTI rallied back above $90/barrel. The gap between the two is narrowing as the European economy slows. Falling crude prices are a healthy long-term sign for the economy, but indicate falling demand and medium-term weakness. Nymex reversal below $90 would confirm a primary down-trend.

Brent Crude and Nymex Crude

Gold Bulls Hit

Grant Williams at Mauldin Economics quotes a friend in Hong Kong in his latest article on gold:

I’ve been taking this opportunity to stock up on some yellow metal. Went to Hang Seng bullion counter yesterday. The line was out the door. It took an hour wait to see a teller. When I asked if people were buying in the dip or selling in panic, she told me that they haven’t had one ounce of gold sold back to them all day. She told me they have sold more gold in 24 hrs than they normally do in 3 months.

While the price in futures market has fallen sharply, physical sales of gold have surged.

Read more at Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..

Pimco’s El-Erian: Markets Trading at ‘Very Artificial Levels’ | WSJ

Steven Russolillo at WSJ reports:

Actions by central bankers across the globe are propping up asset prices to artificial levels that are potentially putting investors at risk, Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

“Investors should recognize that in virtually every single market segment, we are trading at very artificial levels,” El-Erian told WSJ’s Francesco Guerrera. “It’s true for bonds, it’s true for equities. It’s true across the board.”

This reinforces my long-term bullish outlook for gold. Central banks are unlikely to cease their easy money policies any time soon. What we are currently witnessing is the opposite, with the Bank of Japan going ‘nuclear’ in an attempt to kill persistent deflation that has dogged them for over two decades.

I strongly recommend that you watch the video interview at Pimco’s El-Erian: Markets Trading at ‘Very Artificial Levels’ – MoneyBeat – WSJ.

Gold breaks $1500/ounce

Gold fell rapidly on Friday, breaking below support at $1550 and closing below $1500 to signal a primary down-trend. I have revised the target for the down-swing to $1300*, which is roughly a 30% pull-back from its 2011 peak at $1900. The strong warning from 13-week Twiggs Momentum has been confirmed. Recovery above $1550 is most unlikely, but would warn of a bear trap.

Spot Gold

* Target calculation: 1550 – ( 1800 – 1550 ) = 1300

Use gold ETFs to tackle Fed, inflation fears | Outside the Box – MarketWatch

Tom Lydon at MarketWatch reports on large outflows from exchange-traded gold funds:

exchange-traded fund sponsors are beginning to sell their physical gold holdings. Gold ETFs experienced their largest monthly outflow on record in February. This is particularly disconcerting because gold ETF sponsors increased gold holdings during previous large sell-offs, such as in the last few months of 2011.

Read more at Use gold ETFs to tackle Fed, inflation fears – Outside the Box – MarketWatch.