Gold

We'll find out soon whether Mr Slammy has bigger ambitions than the so-far two-day thrashing he has administered to gold futures. The small reverse pattern shown yields a target at 2643.00 that is probably the best bulls can hope for. You can bottom-fish there with a 'camouflage' trigger created from five-minute-or-less bars, but if this 'hidden' support is easily exceeded, brace for more downside to at least 2628.10. That's the midpoint Hidden Pivot support of a big pattern (A=2826.30 on 10/3) associated with a D target at 2497.40, a worst-case target for 2024. ______ UPDATE (Dec 17, 12:52 p.m.):  The futures have turned higher from within an inch of the 2643.00 minimum downside target given above.  A relapse would encounter 'voodoo' support near 2632.70 that can be bottom-fished with a small-pattern (aka 'camouflage') trigger. Otherwise, the so-far modest bounce will need to touch 2683.50 to suggest a recovery and become interesting.

Gold served up a second consecutive week of slop, making it difficult to guess what's on the minds of the thieves who manipulate it for a living (legally and with the Guvmint's complicity, of course).  However, enduring uptrends tend to produce relative weak countertrends, and that describes this one so far. It has twice penetrated to Hidden Pivot midpoint support at 2647.90, but without sending the futures down to the pattern's 2605.30 target. They could still get there, but bears might be drained of energy by then. Alternatively, a pop through C=2690.50 would signal a resumption of the long-term bull trend. Worst case: a two-day close beneath 2617.50, portending more slippage to as low as 2487.00 (daily chart, A= 2826.00 on 10-31-24).

The December contract cheated us out of a profitable 'mechanical' buy at the green line when it erupted for a 60-point rally without having quite touched our 'launching pad' at x=2598.80. Price action is bullish but not quite bullish enough to make the bounce a shoo-in to achieve the pattern's 2770.70 target.  We'll therefore begin the week without the usual confidence and clarity, so check for updates if there's any movement, since that cannot but shed light on the strength and resilience of the uptrend. My gut feeling is that it will achieve d=2770.70, but without making it look easy. _______ UPDATE (Dec 3, 3:58 p.m.): More sideways tedium this week has added nothing useful to an indecisive picture. I am proffering this chart nonetheless as a companion to the update moments ago of the Silver tout immediately below. Both need an upsurge through their respective midpoint Hidden Pivot resistances to signal the onset of a meaningful rally.

Last week's powerful surge made the futures an easy bet to reach the 2724.40 target we used to stay confidently abreast of the trend. The target, a reverse pattern Hidden Pivot resistance, is shortable, preferably if you know how to set up a small-pattern (i.e., 'camouflage') entry trigger. If the rally easily exceeds d=2724.40, use 2769.00 as a minimum upside objective, and expect it to work precisely. It is calculated by sliding 'a' down to the 2580.80 low recorded on September 18. That is what I refer to as a 'locked' point 'a', since there are no lower lows to be found that would still yield a reverse pattern. _______ UPDATE (Nov 25, 1:42 p.m.): Something has changed, since nasty old Mr Slammy has been showing up too frequently in the last month. Today's gratuitous pounding triggered a 'mechanical' buy at the red line (p=2656.10) that we will shun because of gold's punk behavior of late.  The trade is holding so far, since the intraday low at 2617.90 is $1.30 above the textbook stop-loss.  However, I'll recommend bottom-fishing only at the green line (x=2598.80), provided you understand the trade and can manage entry risk tightly. Also, don't expect the bounce to reach the D target at 2770.7. This one should be played for a one-level gain, from x to p, since it's possible an important top was seen with October 30's print at 2801.8, inches from a key target I'd billboarded months earlier.

I'd suggested paper-trading this vehicle by bottom-fishing with a $17 trigger interval. In theory, if gold's wrenching downtrend is about to reverse, the trade should produce an easy winner. In actuality, it stopped out the first opportunity and is in the throes of a profitable second. But the bounce, for starters, will need to exceed d=2608.50 to imply a recovery with the potential to achieve a new all-time high. My target above late October's 2801.80 record would be 2940.10. For now, though, we should look for the futures to work their way lower. If they fall to the green line (x=2497.50) of this pattern -- the one projecting to 2940 -- it would trigger a theoretically appealing 'mechanical' buy. In practice, however, it would be akin to catching the falling piano, and I am therefore recommending the trade only to subscribers who know how to pare the risk down to literal chump change. If the trade gets stopped out below 2350.00, wrecking the pattern, it would imply that bullion is not in a correction, but a bear market. _______ UPDATE (Nov 21, 1:22 p.m.):  With an intraday high today of 2676, December Gold is enjoying a robust bounce from 2541, well above the worst-case low I’d projected above. This is bullish and puts the 2940.10 rally target credibly back in play. More immediately, my minimum objective for this so-far corrective bounce is 2724.00. That is a 'd' Hidden Pivot (a=2618.80 on 10/10) and a crucial point of resistance that will enable us to judge whether the rally is for real.

Gold futures have taken a nasty hit since topping on October 30 within 1.60 of a well-advertised Hidden Pivot target of mine at 2803.40. Even so, the downdraft has yet to generate an impulse leg on the daily chart by exceeding two prior lows. That would occur with a print at 2618.70, but even then, its putative power could be diminished if the bounce from Thursday's low gets a little more loft. We'll give bulls the benefit of the doubt as the new week begins by assuming a 'mechanical' buy at the red line produces a big winner. The target would be 2940.10 (see inset), and the initial stop-loss would be at 2546.70. Please note that the trade has yet to trigger, since the selloff has gone no lower than 2650.30.  Paper-trade this one only if your Hidden Pivot chops are up to snuff. _______ UPDATE (Nov 11, 12:08 p.m.): This morning's avalanche brought the futures down to the red line, so I'll suggest using a $17 trigger interval to get long. This is bigger than I would prefer, but it will diminish the chance of a false signal. With a so-far low of 2619.20, the 'buy' signal would occur on a 2636.20 print. Your first profit-taking objective would be at p=2653.20, where d=2687.20 (60-min, a=2650.30 on 11/6).  This is a paper trade for all but the most intrepid Pivoteers. I am mainly interested in determining whether bullion has topped for the long term. The trade set-up I am suggesting is a good way to answer that question, and a rally that exceeds 'd' would imply the answer is 'no'. Alternatively, if the rally dies at 'p', that would be a very discouraging sign.

Comex Gold hasn't fully corrected to a D/d target in nearly two years, so we'll be watching closely to see whether it does so this time. That would require more downside to d=2525.80 of the rABC pattern shown, equating to a 10% correction off the recent top. (It was precisely foreseen here back in September with the futures trading $300 lower). A 10% retracement would not be unusual for the steep, prolonged run-up bullion has enjoyed since September 2023.  And here's some potentially good news: there is a small (i.e., 25%) chance today's low at 2660.70 will be as bad as it gets, since that's a hair from a Hidden Pivot midpoint support at 2663.80 shown in the chart. I doubt bulls will get off that easy, however, and expect the selloff to continue down to at least the secondary pivot (p2) at 2594.80. As always, a decisive penetration of a Hidden Pivot on first contact would imply more slippage to the next, in this case to d=2525.80. An easy penetration of that target would be unwelcome news, since it could spell the end of the bull market begun in 1999 from around $240.

The futures have sold off $60 so far after coming within a hair of a 2803.40 target I'd been drum-rolling since September. The yellow flag is out, but there is still a higher target outstanding at 2940.10 that should be held in mind, even if the correction continues for another $250. However unlikely, that would bring the December contract down to the green line, triggering a 'mechanical' buy that would provide juicy odds for bottom-fishing. More immediately, the first chance this vehicle will have to regain traction is at 2711.30, my minimum downside objective for the near term (daily chart, a= 2708.70 on 9-26). If that Hidden Pivot support fails, look for the retracement to come into the thicket of October's consolidation zone, between 2640 and 2690. _______ UPDATE (Nov 6, 7:15 p.m. ET): Comex Gold hasn't fully corrected to a D (conventional) or d (reverse-pattern)  target in nearly two years, so we'll be watching closely to see whether it does so this time. That would require more downside to d=2525,80 of the rABC pattern shown, equating to a 10% correction off the recent top. (It was precisely predicted here back in September with the futures trading $300 lower). A 10% retracement would not be unusual to correct the steep, prolonged run-up bullion has enjoyed since September 2023. There is also a small possibility that today's low at 2759.50 will be as bad as it gets, since that is just slightly below the 2663.80 Hidden Pivot midpoint support shown in the chart. I doubt bulls will get off that easy, however, and expect the selloff to continue down to at least the secondary pivot (p2=2594.80). As always, a decisive penetration of that Hidden Pivot on first contact would imply more slippage to the next, in this case d=2525.80. An easy

The December contract has been a good bet to reach the 2803.40 target since September 12, when it blew past p=2576.75, retested it a week later, then never looked back. However, the pattern is sufficiently clear and compelling to temper our enthusiasm when the target is reached.  Recall that we have always felt great, looking for more, just as gold was topping. A tradeable high looks likely at 2803 even if it proves not to mark an important top.  We should treat it as such unless buyers impale it on first contact. Alternatively, if the December contract closes for two consecutive days above 2803, you can assume it is bound for at least 2940 (A=1933 on 10/6/23).