Saturday, May 10, 2014

Commodities Market Recap and this Weeks Stops and Trading Numbers....Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Gold, Silver, Coffee, Sugar and More!

We've asked our trading partner Michael Seery to give our readers a weekly recap of the futures market. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets......


Crude oil futures are trading below their 20 day but still above their 100 day moving average stating that the trend is mixed as I am currently sitting on the sidelines as there is no trend currently. The fundamentals are bearish in oil as stock piles are at 85 year highs as prices peaked at 104 last month now looking at support between 97-98 dollars a barrel as I think lower prices are ahead however I am not currently participating in this market so wait for better chart structure to develop.
TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: OK

Get our "Advanced Crude Oil Study – 15 Minute Range"

Natural Gas Futures. I had been recommending a long position in the June natural gas as prices broke down yesterday hitting a 10 day low and stopping us out of the market for a loss so sit on the sidelines and wait for better chart structure to develop. This was a disappointing trade as I thought prices were going to break above 5.00 but that did not happen so it’s time to lick your wounds and find a better trend.
TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: SOLID

Gold futures in the June contract settled last Friday at 1,309 while going out today around 1,290 down by about $20 for the trading week as the Ukrainian situation has stalled sending gold prices back down into the recent trading range. Gold futures are trading below their 20 but right at their 100 day moving average as prices have been consolidating in the last 5 weeks trading in a $30 range as I’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a better chart pattern to develop but if you are looking to get into this market on the long side I would buy at today’s prices placing my stop at the 10 day low of 1,365 risking around $2,500 per contract and if you’re looking to get short this market I would sell at today’s price while putting my stop loss at 1,310 risking around $2,000 as the chart structure is relatively tight at the current time. Gold prices rallied from 1,180 all the way up near $1,400 an ounce 2 months ago so this is basically the 50% retracement and I think you will see a consolidation for quite some time so keep a close eye on this chart as it appears to me that a breakout is looming.
TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: EXCELLENT

Is it Time to Admit That Gold Peaked in 2011?

Silver futures in New York continued their bearish trend this week settling last Friday at 19.55 finishing lower by about $.45 for the trading week as I still think there’s a possibility that a spike bottom occurred in last Fridays trade as $19 has been very difficult to break on the downside. Silver futures have come all the way from slightly above $22 in late February all the way down to today’s level and from $35 in 2013 so this is been a bear market for well over 1 year as there seems to be a lack of interest, however eventually silver will turn around and join the rest of commodities higher but at this point there’s just very little interest. Silver futures are trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the trend is lower and as I’ve talked about many times before if you have deep pockets and you’re a longer-term investor I think prices down at these levels are relatively cheap and if prices went lower I would continue to dollar cost average as there is real demand for silver.
TREND: LOWER
CHART STRUCTURE: EXCELLENT

Here's our Critical Line in the Sand for Silver

Coffee futures in the July contract were sharply lower this week finishing down over 1150 points this Friday afternoon to close around 184.00 a pound and I’ve been recommending a long position in coffee for quite some time as we got stopped out at the 194 level today which was the 2 week low so sit on the sidelines and wait for another trend to develop as prices could possibly retest the recent lows of around 170. Coffee futures are trading below their 20 day and above their 100 day moving average as the trend is sideways to lower currently so look for another market that is in a stronger trend but keep a close eye on this market as I do think prices are limited to the downside and I would be an interested buyer around the 165 level which was hit in early April. Coffee prices broke above to new contract highs 3 weeks ago but prices have just petered out here in recent weeks as crop estimates start to come out in the next several weeks.
TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: POOR

Check out our Coffee Traders Facebook page

Sugar futures finished the week down around 20 points trading in nonvolatile action as prices are testing support at 17.07 settling this Friday at 17.20 and if that level is broken then I would place my stop loss above the 10 day high which stands at 18.03 risking around 100 points or $1,100 dollars per contract. The chart structure is excellent at the current time as the trend is lower as prices are trading below their 20 & 100 day moving averages as prices have been in a 100 point trading range over the last month so keep a close eye on the 17 level for a possible short as the soft commodities have turned negative recently. TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: OUTSTANDING

Why Are So Many Boomers Working Longer?

When Do You Add To Your Winning Trade? This has always been a very interesting question because it can create a situation of going from rags to riches or from riches to rags in a very short amount of time. Many times I see traders abuse pyramiding or adding to positions with utter lack of any type of money management system in place and letting it ride which usually ends up in a complete wipeout of capital and sometimes even worse.

Commodity prices can move very quickly with large gains or loses like we experienced in the 2008 crash of stock and commodity prices, so you always have to use stops and not fall in love or marry a position. In my opinion the answer to this question is add only once to the trade if that position has made you at least 2%-3% of your account balance while still having stop losses on all positions that equal 2% loss at a maximum risk. Remember your stop loses will be different on both positions because of the fact that you entered those trades at a different date and price.

There are many different theories about how long does a meaningful consolidation have to last before you enter a trade on the breakout to the up or downside? In my opinion I always want to see a consolidation that lasts at least 8 or more weeks before I would consider entering. The reason that I want a longer consolidation is to try and avoid a bunch of false breakouts such as a 10 or 15 day consolidations which happen all the time, so I am trying to put the odds in my favor by trading the breakout of at least 8 weeks or more and the longer such as a 11 or 13 week consolidation the better. At this present time cocoa is in a major consolidation.

Want more call for this weeks commodity markets? Orange Juice, Wheat, Cotton, Cattle....Just Click Here!


Sign up for one of our Free Trading Webinars....Just Click Here!


No comments: