Gold Could Experience Significant Gains

Summary:

• Gold market Overview at the top of the post
• Positioning / Investment options at the bottom of the post
• Analysis: Short, Medium and Long-term analysis with rationale in the middle

Introduction

On April 4, 2017 we mentioned that the Gold rally could pause over here. At that point Gold was at 1263 and today its at 1245. Following chart shows the ~4 month sideways consolidation in Gold:

What happened to Gold was that it succumbed to excessive optimism among market participants and as a result wasn't able to muster enough strength or the wall of worry wasn't strong enough to allow Gold to climb beyond immediate resistance levels.

At the same time, stock markets around the world did pretty well, which dampened Gold's demand. As a result, sentiment turned extremely sour towards precious metals. for example:

• Daily sentiment Index reached: 10 out of 100
• Long Positions of major hedge funds reached lows not seen since late 2015
• Articles started coming out proclaiming much lower Gold prices and Bitcoin being the new Gold

Both of these development highlighted the fact that in July (after 3 months), wall of worry had again gotten stronger. And now we are at a different phase in Gold. We will evaluate Gold from near-term perspective to long-term to understand what is coming-up next.

Near -term:  Since July 11th  Gold has been stair-stepping higher without any major move, which is good because its moving under the radar. Secondly, it is tracing out a sequence of 1s and 2s, which can lead to a sharp move higher in wave 3 of 3. 

Medium Term: While Gold and Gold stocks prepare for acceleration on the short-term time frame, they are also positioned very well for a rally in medium term. Because at this time frame, Gold also completed a sequences of 1s and 2s. Even though following chart shows Gold stocks, bullish case for Gold is similar if not better.

Longer-term: Gold is tracing out an inverted Head and Shoulders pattern. This pattern, once broken can lead to 1400 price. Important thing to note is that this price target might will not be achieved in one day but will reach there over time.

Rationale: There are many reasons that can propel Gold to higher levels some of these include:

1. Potential correction in Stocks and Gold acting as the safety trade
2. Potential increase in geo-political tensions
3. Continuous weakness in US Dollar Index, which was one of the big trades at the start of the year but we mentioned in February on twitter (@survive_thrive) that this US Dollar rally might be over, so one should look for alternatives. We will discuss US Dollar index in greater detail in another post. 

Positioning

Markets are at a critical juncture. However, knowing that is one thing and acting on this information is totally different in our experience. We mentioned following big moves on this blog/twitter in 2017 but doubt if effective trading was performed around this analysis:

• March Top
• April Top in Gold
• April Bottom in Stocks
• Emerging Market buy in February
• Early July bottom in Nasdaq
• ...

At this critical time, we are using proprietary models to expose clients to positions that have the highest success probability.  Our strategies have generated consistent returns, while taking advantage of new market opportunities and minimizing existing risk. We provide Absolute Return Hedge Fund like strategies through Managed Accounts. Performance - H1 2017 

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2017 Investment Themes

There are many prominent investment themes for 2017. Investment themes help investors understand the broader investment landscape based on historical performance of different asset classes and their current catalysts. This analysis helps in properly positioning one's portfolio to take advantage of the winds of change.

US Stock Market

SP500 and DJIA have experienced an amazing 1 year rally. Since Feb 2016, markets are up ~30%. With such a sharp rally, it won't be wrong to expect a sideways/downward market correction. Since corrections can come in different forms, sideways correction with time will help in digesting last year's gains just like a sharp fall in prices.

Lofty price levels can be supported by equally good earning numbers, which can provide further fuel for the rally. However, with the uncertain political dynamics in the U.S. we should be prepared for any sudden decline in the US stock prices like 1987 market crash - not a certainty but a word of caution.

Note: Next earnings will be reported in mid-April 2017


Emerging Markets

On the other hand, emerging markets finished a 5 year long correction in 2016. As US markets rallied, emerging markets corrected from 2011 to 2015. Since bottoming in 2016, emerging markets have rallied and looks like they have formed an inverted head and shoulders pattern. Once they breakout, emerging markets could go up to there 2011 highs. Therefore, this is an area to keep in mind.

Precious Metals

Gold had been declining since 2013. It bottomed in early 2016 and then rallied sharply. However, since mid-2016, Gold has again experienced a major pullback. However, we think that this pullback is a buying opportunity and would result in higher prices. 

Following chart shows a potential inverted head and shoulders pattern being formed by gold. Once this pattern is complete, gold can make an advance towards all-time highs around 1900. However, the first target would be to reach July 2016 highs. Therefore, gold is an area which one should keep on his/her radar for investment opportunities.

Precious metals are also influenced by the US dollar. US dollar has rallied very significantly over the last two years or so. Therefore, as the US Dollar corrects, it will provide fuel for a rally in the precious metals complex.

Bonds

Bond have been in a long-term bull market. In fact, its one of the biggest bull markets in history of bond prices. However, the bond price cycles are turning and so are the prices. Now the question is whether the Bond Bull has ended or it still has some life left.

Bond prices started declining in mid 2016 and have reached a critical area. Prices should reverse to the upside soon or they will mark the end of the Bond bull, which can be disastrous for the debt-laden global economy. We will keep a tab on the Bond market to understand clues for the future of the US economy.

Investment Options

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Gold Market Sentiment & Structure Confluence

In the last post we suggested that the trend in the Gold market is about to exhaust itself based on structural analysis (link). Since then the gold declined for a day and helped solidify the pattern, along with pessimism, necessary for a sustainable bounce.

Gold Sentiment
Gold sentiment has dipped to levels last seen near last year's lows. Following snap shots are from Daily Sentiment Index values on Nov 21.

Following chart shows longer-term DSI values (originally published by Taylor Dart). We can see that DSI is at lowest levels seen in last year.

Gold miners are also extremely oversold. They are at levels where we have seen major bounces in the past. This bounce can turn into major rally, dependent on internal market strength.

Hulbert index also shows that the sentiment is now negative 18%, which means that the average newsletter writer is now recommending shorting gold. Even though it is not at the lowest level, we have seen higher lows in the sentiment at the bottom. So it's possible that gold prices might bottom with a little elevated sentiment.

Market Classification Model
Along with all the positive developments on the sentiment front, the Market Classification Model remains in a bull market for Gold. As a result, we should not only expect a bounce but a resumption of the uptrend. This resumption could lead to acceleration to the upside. If the market completes the inverted head and shoulders pattern, we could easily see 1800 in 2017.

In the next blog post, we will discuss Fundamental reasons that could support this rise in Gold prices including asset rotation and Indian decision to restrict currency.

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Gold Market - Approaching a Turn

Gold market has been declining for the past few months. This decline came after a very sharp start of the year rally in Gold. Based on gold market's fundamental, technical and sentiment analysis, Gold is approaching a bottom. From a technical perspective, there are three distinct reasons that point us towards an approaching Gold market bottom:

1. Intermediate term Gold structure
2. Longer-term goal structure
3. Market Classification Model

Intermediate term Gold structure

Gold prices topped in early July. The peak in Gold prices coincided with Brexit panic. Since topping in July, prices have gone down in a choppy manner - characteristic of a market correction.

Even though Gold prices spiked on US election night, they went down and have declined since then. If we look at a slightly longer-term pattern, it seems like that the recent decline is part of a big corrective pattern that started in May. 

As a result, this correction will be wave 2 of the rally that started in Dec 2015. Once this wave ends, we will be in for a very sharp rally in wave 3. This rally will most likelt take the prices to near the all time high. Another evidence in this regard is the inverted head and shoulders pattern being carved out by the precious metal:

Inverted Head and Shoulders

Following chart shows weekly Gold prices over last few years. Once can see a nicely formed inverted head and shoulders forming. Once this pattern is completed, it's target is around 1800 level.

Other reasons to support the fact that Gold is approaching a major bottom is the pervasively negative sentiment as evident from Daily sentiment Index, Bullish Percentage Index or Hulbert Gold Newsletter Index.

Market Classification Model

Our proprietary Market Classification Model remains in a bull market. MCM utilizes prop trend identification algorithm to decipher between bull and bear markets. Currently it is in a Bull market. It entered a Bull in April and has maintained its posture since then. We use MCM to make investment decision and add positions.

In the next blog post, we will review sentiment analysis for Gold and fundamental reasoning for a gold rally.

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