gold

Great look at the technical prospects of the gold ETF (GLD) by technical whiz Corey Rosenbloom.

The impending weaker Dollar helped to boost April Gold on Tuesday. The rally tested a major 50% price at $1136.75. Regaining this level will be a sign of strength and could trigger a further rally to $1158.50. The recent weakness in the British Pound and Euro has put gold at an all-time high in terms of these two currencies.

Natural gas prices ended lower last week despite slightly supportive weekly inventory data and cold weather forecasts in the US, as a slide in crude and more bad economic news pressured prices.

As investors vacillated about the impact of developments in Greece, together with the uncertainty of strong fourth-quarter economic data possibly not carrying over to the first quarter, stock markets experienced two sharp sell-offs and two rebound rallies, limping to small gains on Friday but ending the week modestly down.

What's more important: upside or stability?

That debate constantly rages amongst commodities producers. Especially when it comes to deciding whether to sell gold, copper or oil at spot versus long-term pricing.

The Year of the Metal Tiger is upon us. Traditionally, the Lunar New Year is a festive period where the Chinese celebrate by giving angpows, buy new stuff after doing a thorough spring cleaning, clear outstanding debts and look forward to bountiful rewards. However, given that the tiger is a ferocious animal, this year is generally not good for risky ventures.

China appears to be slumping under late-stage signs of overcapacity with the South China Mall only 1% occupied and the entire city of Ordos vacant along with 50% of the office space in Beijing standing empty, China is now a country that has 30Bn square feet of construction in progress for a country with "only" 1.4Bn people.

The strengthening April Gold market is a strong indication that the pact between the European Union and Greece is imminent, thereby driving up demand for risky assets. Speculators are anticipating that the agreement to shore up the debt in Greece will be released shortly. This news should pressure the Dollar and underpin the gold market.

The U.S. Dollar is Finally Getting Invited Back to the Investment Party

The buck is up 6% against the euro in the last three weeks. Notwithstanding problems in Greece and Spain, and the attendant complications for the E.U., this is a pretty good performance.

Illustrating an important lesson. Don't count the dollar out too soon.

Commodity bulls may be feeling the pain, but this is likely a great opportunity for buyers

Fear over concerns about sovereign debt default and a worse than expected U.S. initial claims report helped to push commodity and stock markets lower on Thursday. Risk aversion drove investors toward safer, lower-yielding assets to the benefit of the U.S. Dollar.

Stronger U.S. economic reports drove traders out of risky assets, putting pressure on both gold and crude oil. April Gold surged overnight to $1126.40 before backing down. This price was inside of a retracement zone at $1120.50 to $1131.40. The stronger Dollar encouraged traders to dump higher risk assets which weakened precious metals.

My father in law wrote yesterday to give me grief about my recent gold forecast/guess as laid out in a recent Currency Currents. So happy he was with the recent bounce off the support level in the yellow metal...

April Gold surged for the third consecutive day fueled by a combination of oversold conditions and a weaker Dollar. After failing to attract fresh selling pressure following the break under the December bottom at $1076.50, this market has formed a support base. Tuesday’s rally helped form a new main bottom at $1073.20.