Oil Drops as Dollar Rises, Analysts Forecast Supply Increase

Crude oil dropped as a stronger dollar reduced the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment and analysts forecast fuel supplies will climb. Oil futures have almost doubled since February as the dollar declined 17 percent and rising equity markets buoyed investor confidence. U.S. oil and fuel inventories probably increased last week amid refinery maintenance and a sluggish economic recovery.

“The dollar continues to be a leading indicator for oil prices because of the global nature of the asset,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. Crude oil for November delivery declined 13 cents to settle at $66.71 a barrel at 2:44 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices have increased 50 percent this year. Futures fell 8.4 percent last week, the biggest drop since the week ended July 10.....Read the entire article

Crude Oil Daily Technical Outlook From ONG Focus

Break of 67.02 minor resistance indicates that an intraday low is in place at 65.05 and some consolidation could now be see. Nevertheless, recovery is expected to be limited well below 71.11 resistance an bring fall resumption. Below 65.05 will target 61.8% projection of 75.0 to 67.05 from 73.16 at 60.30 next, which is close to next psychological level of 60.

In the bigger picture, sustained trading below medium term trend line support solidifies that case that medium term rebound from 33.2, which is treated as correction whole down trend form 147.27, has completed at 75.0 on bearish divergence conditions in daily MACD and RSI. Further break of 58.32 cluster support (38.2% retracement of 33.2 to 75.0 at 59.03) will confirm this case and pave the way for a retest of 33.2 low. On the upside, break of 71.77 resistance is needed to invalidate this view. Otherwise, outlook will remain bearish.....Here is the charts!

Crude Drops on Forecast U.S. Oil, Fuel Supplies Rose Last Week

Oil fell before a report forecast to show that U.S. supplies of crude and refined oils accumulated because of a sluggish economic recovery. An Energy Department report due tomorrow will probably show crude stockpiles rose by 1 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Gasoline and distillate fuel inventories also increased, the survey said.

Oil prices have gained 50 percent this year as a weaker dollar boosts the appeal of crude as a currency hedge. “With energy fundamentals still uninspiring, prices should remain confined to the $65-$75 trading range for some time to come,” said Edward Meir, an analyst with MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut. “The dollar’s decline seems to have stalled” and.....Read the entire article

Bottom Pickers Push Crude Oil Higher, Natural Gas Pulls Back

Crude oil closed up $0.89 at $66.91 a barrel today. Prices closed nearer the session high today on short covering and speculative bottom picking. Prices Friday hit a fresh nine week low. Serious near term chart damage has been inflicted recently as prices have seen a bearish downside "breakout" from a trading range at higher price levels.

Natural gas closed down 11.6 cents at $4.832 today. Prices closed nearer the session low today on profit taking. Prices Friday hit a fresh six week high. Prices are in a three week old uptrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls have upside technical momentum.

The U.S. dollar index closed up 21 points at 77.23 today. Prices closed nearer the session high today on more short covering in a bear market. Bears still have the overall near term technical advantage.

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BP, Kuwait to Build Refinery in China

Energy giant BP (BP) is collaborating with Kuwait to build a $9 billion refinery venture in southern China. The facility, in China's Guangdong province, would have a refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

The facility would be 30 percent owned by KPI, Kuwait's state run oil company. Chinese refiner Sinopec (SHI) would have a 50 percent stake, while Dow Chemical (DOW) and Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B) would each take a ten percent stake. Work on the refinery is expected to commence by March of 2010.

Natural Gas Feint Means Prices Poised to Plummet 19%

The steepest rally in natural gas prices since 2006 is coming to an end as the 400 salt caverns, depleted oil fields and aquifers used to store the fuel in the U.S. reach capacity for the first time. Stockpiles may surpass the record of 3.545 trillion cubic feet by as much as 350 billion cubic feet this fall, Energy Department estimates show. Gulf South Pipeline Co. says its fields in Louisiana and Mississippi are so full that customers will have to pay penalties for exceeding their limits. With no place to go, producers will be forced to dump excess fuel on the market.

The worst economic slump since the 1930s will cut demand from chemical plants to carmakers to households by 2.4 percent this year, according to government estimates. The November futures contract will drop about 19 percent to near $4 per million British thermal units, said Stephen Schork, president of consultant Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania.....Read the entire article

USO, UNG, SPY Trading Charts From The Gold and Oil Guy

The market continues to whipsaw traders out of positions as volatility rises. I have put together a few charts to show you where USO and UNG are trading along with the SPX (SP500 index).

USO Crude Oil Trading Fund
Crude oil started to bleed lower last week as the price sliced through the multi month support trend line. Volume shot up as stop orders get triggered on the way down. We finally have a move outside of the pennant formation that has been in place for several months. Now we can start looking for a low risk setup for trading crude oil again.


UNG Natural Gas Trading Fund
Natural gas has really come back to life. I mentioned on September 2nd that natural gas (UNG) looked like a buy between $9 – $9.50 and it has now rallied 25% since that point. But stepping back and looking at the chart we can see resistance is hovering over head between the $12 – $12.25.

I may send out a setup for a short play if we get one but I feel the heavy sell off in August was the final wave down, flushing out traders. Speculative traders seem to have moved into natural gas and I think they will continue to buy it for some time. Pullbacks will be sharp but most likely followed with more buying as we enter the cooler months of the year.


SPX Index Trading
I thought that I would show a quick picture of the SPX because it shows the psychology of traders and how it repeats it’s self over and over. The black and green waves are virtually the same patterns.

I feel as though the market is ready for a larger pullback than what we had in June/July but my focus will be to buy in the oversold dips and lighten my positions in overbought conditions (scaling in and out of positions) until the trend confirms it has reversed.


My Market Trading Conclusion:
Gold stocks are pulling back and precious metals continue to move with the overall market action. I do feel that gold and silver will break this relationship and start to move higher in the coming months but until that happens I remain cautious with my positions tightening my stops.

Crude oil is starting to come alive and I am now looking for some low risk setups for energy related funds. Last week’s technical breakdown could provide us with a big move in the coming months.

Natural Gas continues to hold up but is now trading near resistance. Depending how many spec traders there are still lingering around (as most lost their shirts in the recent months), will dictate how much higher natural gas will move. The 25-30% rally in the past month has been very powerful and this could be just the beginning. I am now waiting for another setup that could be a long or a short trade depending on what happens next.

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New Video: Straight Lines Lead Straight to Profits in Crude Oil

In this new short video we are going to share with you one of the simplest and most powerful technical tools of all time.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do this and you don’t have to have a PhD in mathematics either. If you’re not already using this tool, I highly recommend that you watch this video.

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New Video: Gold, It’s All Falling Into Place

You may have watched our earlier video on the gold cycles and how important they are in this particular market, at this particular time. Today’s action is indicative of the cycle that we were talking about in the video as it’s pushing gold prices down into a cyclic time window.

I wanted to follow up with this new short video to show you where we believe there should be some good levels to get into a long gold position. The energy fields we’ve discussed before in gold and other markets are still very much intact and are getting wound up for the big move we’ll see later this year.

There is no need to register to watch this video and you can watch it with our compliments.

Just Click Here to watch the "Gold, It's Falling Into Place" video

If you enjoy this follow up, share it with your friends. We am sure they will find our point of view both different and at the same time educational. Please feel free to leave a comment about your view on gold.

U.S. Gas Fund May Shrink With CFTC Rules

U.S. Natural Gas Fund, the largest exchange traded fund in the fuel, may be forced to shrink if U.S. regulators tighten limits on energy speculation, said John Hyland, the fund’s chief investment officer. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission may cap energy investments amid concern speculators contributed to record high commodity prices last year. New limits may force the fund to reduce shares, Hyland said in a Bloomberg television interview.

“The problem there is the shareholders are in UNG because they want the natural gas exposure,” Hyland said. The $4 billion fund is an “easy target” for politicians who need a “villain” to blame for high energy prices, he said. Interest in the fund boomed this year. Shares outstanding grew 11 fold since the start of the year to 347.4 million, pushing the ETF’s natural gas holdings to a July peak equal to 20 percent of all the gas consumed in the U.S. last year..... Read the entire article