The chart replicates the pattern I've used to project a 5300 target for Feb Gold. The corresponding target for GDXJ is 151.42, and although the pattern, like the one for gold futures, starts with an un-kosher point 'A' low, it should prove more than good enough for government work. In fact, it provides an anchor that visually suggests that 151.42 will be a resistance point of consequence. It is the highest target I can project with unexceptionable coordinates. Using a longer-term chart here is not particularly useful for creating new point 'A' beginnings because it would simply recall whatever relatively undramatic lows occurred with GDXJ trading beneath $40. Some of the ups and downs back then may have felt like a big deal, but in the context of the big move up that has occurred since August, they were just grassy bumps on a rural airstrip. _______ UPDATE (Jan 26, 12:02 p.m.): Like much else in the bullion world, GDXJ has gone all lunatick-y, starting today's session with a wildly exuberant gap to the 151.42 target advertised above. It has spent the day so far diddling this Hidden Pivot, but the already 70-cent overshoot has practically guaranteed still-higher prices. I am able to project them only by using 'extension patterns' along the Big Picture's C-D leg, but what would be the point? Query me in the chat room if you get desperate for further guidance. _______ UPDATE (Jan 27, 9:45 p.m.): If buyers shred their way past a Hidden Pivot midpoint resistance at 148.99, assume they are bound for 158.51 (60m, A= 133.08 on 1/21). A secondary 'hidden' resistance ay 153.75 could slow them down.
If you can't guess what commodity the chart shows, you must be living on Mars. It is in fact a long-term picture of silver, which went ballistic in December. The price has doubled since, blowing out a $50 top that had stood since 1980. That price became a part of silver's legend, since it is where one of the wealthiest men in the world, oil tycoon Nelson Bunker Hunt, met his financial Waterloo. With his brothers, Lamar and William, 'Bunky' had attempted to corner the market by buying up silver and futures contracts amounting to about a third of the world's supply. Comex regulators responded by raising margin requirements so high that there were just two players left in the game: the Hunts and Eastman Kodak, a huge industrial user of silver. From a record $50.45 per ounce, the price plunged by half in mere days, forcing the Hunts to sell nearly everything they owned to meet margin calls. In retrospect, they seem not to have broken any rules. However, the Comex was forced to crush them in order to stabilize the metals market. What Does It Mean? Silver's current rise has been orderly, more or less, but with a pitch so steep that it caught many players with their pants down. No reason to feel sorry for them, since they are ethically and morally on a level with child molesters, broad-tossers and cannibals. But the radical shift in precious-metal prices relative to all other classes of investable assets raises a question that should concern us all. For it is not happening in a vacuum, and we can only guess at what it will mean years down the road. Will silver resume a monetary role? Is Trump licking his chops over the prospect of borrowing against all of the gold
Readers can be forgiven for wondering how long the 'topping process' I've alluded to over the last several months will drag on. As you will have long since concluded, no one can answer that question with confidence. For all that we supposed experts know, the bull market begun in 2009 could still be chugging blithely along two years from now when Trump's successor takes office. But this will be the last you'll hear from me about a topping process, even if the bear market for which it will set the hook is as likely as tomorrow's sunrise. It will be a doozy, catalyzed by the unwinding of an Everything Bubble that already owns us, up to and including M&A superstars and big-time real estate developers. The implosion will inflict hard times on most Americans, especially Baby Boomers who went all-in with Nvidia shares, private equity schemes and rental properties mortgaged to the eaves. How worried should you be? I'd suggest taking doomsday predictions with a grain of salt. Speaking as a die-hard permabear who has been predicting a Second Great Depression for as long as anyone can remember, I'd be the first to concede there is no reason why the Dow Industrials and the S&Ps could not co ascend, possibly doubling or even tripling over the next 5–10 years. Just realize that any reported gains in the standard of living would be largely illusory, even as quality-of-life amenities that we took for granted in the 1950s continued toward extinction. Things like doctors making house calls, and mothers being able to stay home with their children. That was America's Renaissance, even if no one knew it at the time. Science to the Rescue! Technology will come through for us as it always has, right? AI wizardry, huge productivity gains and millions
The futures were on a 'mechanical' sell signal to D=6925.25 when the week ended. It came in the final hour of the session, well after the trade was triggered 'conventionally' on the way down on Thursday afternoon. Price action continued a lengthening string of Fridays so boring that a trader fixated on his screen could fall into a trance. We may not know for a few weeks or longer whether this has been topping action or alternatively a consolidation for a run at higher prices. In any event, I wouldn't suggest bottom-fishing at the target of the pattern shown, since it is compromised by a coincident low on Wednesday that is bound to attract a thousand clowns. ______ UPDATE (Jan 19, 12:40 a.m.): Sellers went bananas over more Trump tariff bullshit, sending the futures down to 6911.00 so far. That's 2.0 points from the 6909.00 target I billboarded in the chat room last Tuesday as a back-up-the-truck number. It still is, provided you know how to set up a 'camo' trigger on the hourly chart. The tactic is explained in detail in the Hidden Pivot Course I've made available free to subscribers. _______ UPDATE (Jan 20, 10:10 a.m.): Sellers crushed the 6909.00 support, putting the futures on course for a rendezvous with 6819.75 or worse. In theory, 6869 has triggered a 'mechanical' buy and would be the second signaled at the green line of a bullish pattern that projects to 7163 (60-min, A=6596 on Nov 21). That pattern would be wrecked, however, and stopped out, with a print at 6771.00.
The stock spent most of the week lollygagging near the 457.04 'secondary Hidden Pivot' of the bearish pattern shown. Its eventual target is 444.89, a $15 fall from here. However, the breach of p was such a laborious affair that I cannot guarantee that it will be achieved. But if p2 is decisively exceeded to the downside, or if the stock closes for two consecutive days beneath it, odds of further fall to 444.89 would shorten significantly. For now, 444.89 should be viewed as a worst-case low for the near term. It is also a back-up-the-truck number for bottom-fishing, since even with the somewhat obvious pattern, D=444.89 cannot possibly give way without a struggle. ________ UPDATE (Jan 21, 5:57 p.m.): After the stock MSFT has put in a tradable bottom at or very near 431.89, the rally along a big-picture C-D leg would have the potential to reach 593.79. Seems farfetched, I know, but the stock will face a test we can rely on near 469.29, a major midpoint Hidden Pivot that coincides with the 2024 top. Neither of those Hidden Pivots exists yet, and their exact, respective locations will depend on where the actual low occurs. Please note that the time stamp for this post, along with the last price, come from my update in the chat room yesterday.
Let's use the imagined head-and-shoulders formation I drew here last week to get short at 106,464, the midpoint Hidden Pivot resistance of the pattern shown. The provenance of the 108,378 stop-loss I am recommending is novel, since it is derived from an unrelated 'mechanical' set-up that carries more risk. This is a blend of the two trades, with a price objective of 72,808. That implies this long-term trade will be risking $1914 initially to make as much as $27,144. Please note that the odds of getting stopped out are significantly higher than if we employed an entry strategy with a wider stop-loss. _______ UPDATE (Jan 20): Bitcoin's plunge on Sunday put my wishful short far out of reach. It could now fall to 87,722 -- gratuitously -- over the next 3-5 days, and a rally to 95,403 would trigger a 'mechanical short, stop 97,964. _______ UPDATE (Jan 21, 1:18 p.m.): For lack of genuine interest, Bitcoin has flunked the reinstatement test. The $2800(!) bounce off yesterday's low came from within 22 points -- a fiftieth of a percentage point! -- of the 87, 722 target I'd advertised in the last update (see above). There was no mention of this in the room, not even from the dozen-or-so subscribers who professed to want BTC to remain on the list. Accordingly, starting on Sunday, I will substitute Copper on the touts list. I am willing to provide private Bitcoin forecasts to anyone who wants them, but the charge will be $1500/month, and I will need at least four signups to initiate coverage. The service will come with a money-back guarantee, details on request. Serious inquiries only at the email address given in the chat room.
The simple, corrective pattern shown is unlikely to deceive us as we search for signs that the bull market might be faltering. The highest target I've projected so far is 5132.20, somewhat lower than the 5176.00 given here last week. That number was derived from a composite chart, but the revised target, which comes from the February contract alone, should give us a more accurate picture. If getting to 5132.20 is going to remain a good bet, the futures should retrace to no lower than p=4500.70. They could fall beneath that number or even to D=4350.80 and still be no worse than even odds to hit 5132. But if we are looking for better odds, 4500.70 must hold. If it doesn't, and a subsequent rally brings the futures back up to the green line (x=4575.60), that could conceivably set up a 'mechanical' short. Moreover, if the current downtrend crushes the 'hidden' support at 4350.80, that could spell trouble for the bull market. _______ UPDATE (Jan 19, 1:01 p.m.): A bullish wilding spree Sunday night turned a would-be corrective pattern (see above) into chop suey, ensuring more upside most immediately to at least 4773.90. _______ UPDATE (Jan 20, 10:48 a.m.): Currently trading for around 4730, the futures are now bound for a minimum 4835.50 (daily, A=4032.80 on 11/18). A correction to p=4559.90, however unlikely, would warrant a somewhat rare 'mechanical' buy at the red line. D=5132.20 is still the highest target I can project using the daily bars.
The chart summarizes various scenarios for Silver that can be inferred from the Hidden Pivot Method. I've previously identified the 103.215 target, a major 'hidden' resistance that could conceivably cap the steep bull cycle begun from around $50 in late November. But first, the current correction is likely to come down to at least 84.645, the 'd' target of the rABC pattern shown. If the slide continues, prepare for a further retracement to as low as 80.285, the 'd' target of a larger rABC pattern that goes back to the minor peak recorded at 82.76o on December 29. A renewed upthrust could ensue from either number, and its strength presumably would be easy to gauge based on price action at midpoint Hidden Pivots of varying degree. Two further possibilities are suggested: a runaway bull market, which is what the trend would become above 103.215; or a possible nascent bear market after a breakdown beneath d=80.285. The targets mentioned above should be considered as pre-empting any identified earlier. _______ UPDATE (Jan 19, 1:07 a.m.): Silver did its rude thing again Sunday night, blasting off to new highs while bulls and short-covering bears waited in vain for a smash to produce some bargains. Now it's on its way to at least 96.470, another downpayment on our ripening target at 103.215.
There is nothing to suggest this vehicle will not reach the target at 135.90, a once-unimaginable milestone that was first signaled in mid-November when GDXJ crossed up through the green line. The subsequent, confident move through the red line, a midpoint Hidden Pivot resistance at 111.63, significantly shortened the odds the target would be realized. This now appears all but certain, and although it would be implicitly bullish for gold, we shouldn't be too concerned if the respective moves appear to be somewhat out of synch. The ABCD pattern is sufficiently clear to imply that the correction following the final run-up to the target could be long and painful. _______ UPDATE (Jan 20, 11:10 a.m.): It is headed to 139,55 at least, or to 144.86 if any higher. Currently 134.68, just off the high.
The chart is featured in the current commentary, but let me add a cautionary note for subscribers only. The 50K milestone that lies just a hair above Friday's record settlement closely coincides with the 49,355 'D' target of the pattern shown in the inset. My gut feeling is that the so-far slight overshoot of the target happened because traders were intent on hitting 50K regardless of any Hidden Pivots that may have stood in the way. We should infer in any case that there is double stopping power here, and that a significant pullback is distinctly possible, even if it turns out not to have been the start of a bear market. Since we should always have a higher target ready just in case, the 53,022 Hidden Pivot noted in the upper-right corner of the chart can serve that purpose. Assume it will be achieved if the Indoos close for two consecutive weekly bars above 50,600. _______ UPDATE (Jan 30): The Dow has been jerking bears' chains with a Wile E. Coyote dance inches from the potential top I'd warned about at 50,000. Sellers will need to penetrate the red line (p=48,270), however, before I can diss this gas-bag with enthusiasm and still sound credible. Even then, it would be a good bet to fall no further than D=46,918, hinting that the broad averages, unlike bullion, are in shallow correction that will cause little pain or even anxiety. _______ UPDATE (Feb 8): The Dow broke out last week, but the follow-through could be less than spectacular. This chart shows a compelling Hidden Pivot resistance at 50,819, just 704 points, or 1.4%, above Friday's closing price. _______ UPDATE (Feb 20): No change: 50,819 still looms as a potentially important number.
