Gold Short-Term Rally Due - Mid Term Still Down
By Jim Curry - The Gold Wave Trader - 6/24/18
With the mid-term trend still pointing lower, Gold continued to push to lower lows
into last week, with the metal dropping all the way down to a Thursday bottom of
1262.40 - before bouncing slightly off the same into the weekly close.
The Short-Term Cycles
For the very short-term, the smallest cycle that we track is the 10-day wave, which
is now some 15 days along - and with that is into extended range for a bottom. The
next short-term rally should come from this cycle, and should see the 10-day moving
average or better acting as a magnet:
The next dominant cycle above the 10-day wave is the 34-day component, which - as
pointed out last weekend - was seen as heading south off the 1313.00 swing top:
In terms of patterns, with the larger 34-day cycle currently pointing south, the
probabilities will favor any short-term rally with the smaller 10-day component to
end up as countertrend - holding at or well below the 1313.00 figure (August, 2018
contract). If correct, a drop to lower lows should be seen on the next downward phase
of the 10-day cycle, which would then be the odds-on favorite to trough the larger
34-day wave. From there, a rally back to the 34-day moving average or better should
materialize.
The 72-Day and 20-Week Cycles
Stepping back, the current downward phase of the 34-day cycle should ideally be the
one that bottoms the larger 72-day and 20-week waves - each of which are well into
normal bottoming territory. Where (from what price) these larger cycles will bottom
is still up in the air, though the assumption is that it will come from lower lows
than already seen - and perhaps after a bounce in-between, coming from the smaller
10-day component.
Going further with the above, any reversal above the 1313.00 figure (August, 2018
contract) - if seen - would also be our best indication that the 72-day and 20-week
waves have troughed. Here again is a chart of our most dominant cycle, the 20-week
one:
Stepping back further, if and when our 72-day and 20-week cycle bottom is set in
place, a rally of 8-16% or more should materialize on the next mid-term upward phase.
I am actually favoring that higher percentage number to be seen, due to the fact
that the next low for these waves is also likely to end up as the bottom for the
larger 154-day and 310-day cycles - where the average rallies are around 20% from
trough-to-peak.
Longer-Term Cycles
Stepping back even further, the next larger cycle is the 154-day component, which
is shown on the following chart:
The low that is seen for the 72-day and 20-week waves should also end up as the bottom
this larger 154-day component, and what follows should be a minimum rally back to
the 154-day moving average or better. Having said that, with the average statistical
rallies being in the range of 8-16% with the 72-day and 20-week cycles, a rally in
that price range (or better) is eventually favored.
Above the 154-day wave is the 310-day component, which is currently seen as 370 days
along from its last labeled trough, and thus is also looking for its bottom at anytime
going forward:
With the current configuration of the smaller 72-day, 20-week and 154-day cycles,
any reversal back above the 1313.00 figure would be a better-than-average indication
that this larger 310-day wave has also bottomed. Basically then, that 1313.00 figure
is a key number for the mid-term picture.
Gold Timing Index
For the mid-term picture, our best indicator of trend direction for the Gold market
is our Gold Timing Index, which is shown again on the chart below:
From the comments made in past articles, our last sell signal with the Gold Timing
Index came back in February of this year, with Gold (continuous contract) trading
at the 1340 level. In past issues of my Gold Wave Trader report, I have noted the
tendency for buy/sell signals in our Gold Timing index to coincide with tops and
bottoms in this same 310-day cycle component.
With the above said and noted, a divergence between price and our Gold Timing Index
is the initial requirement for a mid-term buy signal - which we are currently seeing;
however, there is no guarantee that this divergence will remain intact. For the actual
mid-term buy signal, our Gold Timing Index would need to see a close back above its
upper standard-deviation band, which it has yet to do.
Commercial Hedgers
In looking again at the COT numbers from last week, the commercial hedgers covered
about 25,000 of their recent shorts, in the process dropping their current net short
total down to 114,124 contracts, with the data current to the 6/18/18 close:
From the comments made in recent articles, the best support for a mid-term rally
phase for Gold is the position of the commercial hedgers, which are holding one of
their smallest net short positions seen in recent years. Even said, as long as the
metal remains below the key 1313.00 figure, it will continue its bearish downtrend
before the next bottom of significance attempts to form.
The Overall Bottom Line
The bottom line for the short-term is that a rally is soon due to materialize, and
should come as a result of the 10-day time cycle. Until proven otherwise, that rally
is favored to end up as countertrend, holding at or well below the 1313.00 figure.
If correct, lower lows should follow, before re-attempting a bottom with the larger
34-day, 72-day, 20-week, 154-day and 310-day cycles - the combination of which should
launch the net mid-term rally phase, a rally expected to be in the range of 8-20%
or more. Stay tuned.
Jim Curry
The Gold Wave Trader
http://goldwavetrader.com/
http://cyclewave.homestead.com/
Jim Curry is the editor and publisher of The Gold Wave Trader and Market Turns advisories
- each of which specializes in the use of cyclic and statistical analysis to time
the Gold and U.S. stock markets. He is also the author of several trading-related
e-books, and can be reached at the URL's above.