Phil Flynn: Not So Demanding

Things are just not that demanding. A lot of times in recent months we can get carried away in a sea of macro economic mania and lose focus on good old fashion supply and demand. And if you believe the report put out by the Energy Information Agency, demand just isn’t that good. Oh sure there is always a macro economic back drop when you price a barrel. Yet for oil, for years it was noise in the background as opposed to the mellow drama up front. When the economy was rocking and supplies were squeezed any headline or rumor or OPEC comment could lift the oil market in the blink of an eye. Or back in the nineties when supplies were plentiful, we would live and die by any slight change in inventory to try to catch whatever small move might be made in a world of maddening stability. Yesterday oil seemed to try to go back to its roots of reacting to supply of course the slightest strength in the US dollar probably helped to add some pressure.

The builds across to board seem to suggest demand is bad and taking a turn for the worse and while all the numbers didn’t seem to quite add up, the overall report tells a cautionary tale about the current strength of our economic recovery. Let’s start with the numbers, the EIA reported that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) increased by 2.1 million barrels from the previous week. That put supply at 339.9 million barrels which is still well above the average range for this time of year. What was more shocking to some was the 4.0 million barrels increase in gasoline supplies which shows that drivers are cutting back as economic times are tough. The EIA says demand averaged 9.0 million barrels per day while up by 0.7 percent from the same period last year, we have to remember that last year at this time the economy was really starting to unravel.....Read the entire article.

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Where is Crude Oil and Gold Headed on Friday?

CNBC's Sharon Epperson discusses the day's activity in the commodities markets, and looks ahead to where oil is likely headed tomorrow.




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Crude Oil Market Commentary For Thursday Evening

Crude oil closed lower on Thursday as it consolidates some of its earlier gains this week. A short covering rally tempered early session losses and the mid range close sets the stage for a steady to higher opening on Friday.

If January extends the decline off October's high, the 75% retracement level of this fall's rally crossing at 70.23 is the next downside target. Closes above the reaction high crossing at 79.92 would confirm that a short term low has been posted.

First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 77.16
Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 78.18

First support is last Friday's low crossing at 72.39
Second support is the 75% retracement level of this fall's rally crossing at 70.23

Today’s Stock Market Club Trading Triangles

Natural gas closed lower on Thursday as it extends this fall's decline. The low range close sets the stage for a steady to lower opening on Friday. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term.

If January extends this week's decline, weekly support crossing at 4.157 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.848 would temper the near term bearish outlook in the market.

First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 4.798
Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.848

First support is today's low crossing at 4.432
Second support is weekly support crossing at 4.157

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The U.S. Dollar closed lower on Thursday due to profit taking. The high range close sets the stage for a steady to higher opening on Friday. Stochastics and the RSI remain bearish signaling that additional weakness is possible near term.

If March extends this year's decline, weekly support crossing at 73.39 is the next downside target. Closes above the reaction high crossing at 76.50 would confirm that a short term low has been posted.

First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 75.24
Second resistance is last Friday's high crossing at 76.50

First support is last Wednesday's low crossing at 74.21
Second support is weekly support crossing at 73.39

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Bloomberg Analysis: Crude Oil Buyers Risk ‘Bull Trap’ Near $80

Crude oil buyers may misinterpret the market’s climb this week as a signal for further gains, exposing themselves to a potential price reversal, according to Cameron Hanover Inc. Oil, rising for a third week in four, will face stronger resistance the closer it gets to $82 a barrel, a one year high reached on Oct. 21, said Peter Beutel, president of the trading adviser in New Canaan, Connecticut. Buyers should watch for the market to settle higher each day before stepping in, rather than take their cues from intraday price swings, he said.

“We need to be careful of bull traps,” Beutel said in an email. “We should probably look for two closes with a second day higher than the first breakout day to confirm that a real breakout has occurred.” Crude oil touched a one week high above $79 a barrel on Dec. 1 as the dollar’s decline against the euro bolstered the investment appeal of commodities including gold.....Read the entire article.

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Crude Oil Bulls Maintain Their Near Term Advantage

Crude oil was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of Wednesday's decline. Stochastics and the RSI remain neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term.

Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 78.22 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. If January renews the decline off October's high, the 75% retracement level of this fall's rally crossing at 70.23 is the next downside target.

Thursday's pivot point, our line in the sand is 77.14

First resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 78.22
Second resistance is the reaction high crossing at 80.88

First support is last Friday's low crossing at 72.39
Second support is the 75% retracement level of this fall's rally crossing at 70.23

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Natural gas was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of this week's decline. Stochastics and the RSI remain bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term.

If January extends this week's decline, weekly support crossing at 4.157 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.853 would temper the near term bearish outlook in the market.

Nat gas pivot point for Thursday is 4.611

First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 4.807
Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.853

First support is Wednesday's low crossing at 4.511
Second support is weekly support crossing at 4.157

What do Super Traders have in common?

The U.S. Dollar was lower overnight as it extends this week's decline. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term.

If March extends this year's decline, monthly support crossing at 73.39 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.45 would temper the near term bearish outlook in the market.

First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 75.22
Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 75.45

First support is last week's low crossing at 74.55
Second support is monthly support crossing at 73.39

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Crude Oil and Natural Gas Technical Outlook For Thursday Morning

Nymex Crude Oil (CL)

With 4 hours MACD crossed below signal line, intraday bias is turned neutral for the moment. With 80.51 resistance intact, the choppy fall from 82.0 is possibly still in progress. Below 75.18 minor support will will flip intraday bias back to the downside for trend line support at 70.97. Nevertheless, note that a break of 80.51 will indicate that choppy consolidations from 82.0 has completed already and the medium term rally could be resuming for 82.0 and beyond.

In the bigger picture, the lack of follow through selling and the choppy price actions from 82.0 so far dampen our bearish view. Instead, the corrective natural of the fall from 82.0 to 72.39 suggests that it's merely consolidation in the medium term rise. That is, rally from 33.2 is possibly not completed yet and a break of 80.51 will affirm this bullish case. Nevertheless, as we expect such rise to conclude inside resistance zone of 76.77/90.24 (38.2% and 50% retracement of 147.27 to 33.2), focus will remain on loss of momentum and reversal signal even in case of another rise.

Meanwhile, on the downside, a break of 72.39 low will firstly indicate that fall from 82.0 has resumed. Further break of trend line support at 70.97 will revive the case that crude oil has already completed the medium term rebound from 33.2 and bring deeper fall to 58.32 cluster support (50% retracement of 33.2 to 82 at 57.60) for confirmation.....Nymex Crude Oil Continuous Contract 4 Hours Chart.

Nymex Natural Gas (NG)

Outlook in natural gas remains unchanged. Recent price actions should be consolidations to rise from 2.409 only and hence, downside of the current fall is expected to be contained by 4.157 support. Also, we'd anticipate an upside breakout sooner or later after completing the consolidation. Above 5.318 will confirm that whole rebound from 2.409 has resumed and should target 61.8% projection of 2.409 to 5.318 from 4.157 at 5.955 next.

In the bigger picture, medium term fall from 13.69 is treated as part of the long term consolidation pattern that started at 15.78 back in 2005. Further will now remain in favor as long as 4.157 support holds, towards 38.2% retracement of 13.694 to 2.409 at 6.72 and beyond. Nevertheless, break of 4.157 support will indicate dampen this bullish case and turn outlook mixed again.....Nymex Natural Gas Continuous Contract 4 Hours Chart

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Tis the Season to Trade the Seasonal Charts, Dow, Gold, Silver, Oil and Gas

The market has had a fantastic week so far for stocks and precious metals. The financial and energy sector are under performing which is a concern, but we continue to hold our positions and will wait until a reversal to lock in our gains.

Things seem to be lining up for stocks and precious metals to take a breather, which is in line with the Dow Jones Seasonal chart below.

Let’s take a look…

Dow Jones ETF
You can see from looking at the chart the repeated pattern of price rallies, leading to exhaustion and a test of support, followed by another repeat of the pattern. It looks as if the broad market is setup for a test of support which could happen within 2-4 days. Then as we near the holiday prices will start to drift higher. This pattern occurs more often than not as seen on the Dow Jones Seasonal chart below.



Dow Jones Seasonal Trends
This chart clearly shows weakness in the first half of December and continued strength moving forward. This has not really happened in the past two years which means we are overdue for continued strength. 

That being said, the previous two years were bear markets and we are now in a bull market. So the tendency is for buying to continue into year end.



GLD ETF Fund
Gold continues to push higher surprising many of us. It seems as though money is rushing into metals and buyers are not particularly concern about price. While this is great for short term traders and those of us in the trade, we must remember that the faster things go up, the quicker they correct.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think gold is going to crash, I just think we could get a 10% correction before moving much higher. Gold is also trading near the upper end of the trend channel and could have a 2-4 day consolidation with the broad market before pushing much higher.



SLV Exchange Traded Fund
Silver has been underperforming yellow gold but is still a solid investment. It is also trading near the upper end of the trend channel and could have a 2-4 day consolidation with the broad market.



USO & UNG Funds
Oil continues to flag from its breakout back in October. This is a bullish pattern. Last Friday we saw oil open much lower then rally back into the trend channel. This is called an outside day and many times this happens to stocks and commodities as it shakes out the weak traders before starting another rally higher. We will keep a close eye for any low risk entry point.

Natural Gas had a nice rally last week which I mentioned looks a lot like a short covering rally. The price action this week suggests it was and has now made a new low. Today on CNBC it was reported that a new source of natural gas has been discovered. This resource is 20 times larger than the biggest source in the US. Enough gas to last the US over 100 years. This added to the selling on both natural gas and oil today.



Trading Conclusion:
Precious metals continue to perform well and it’s important to note that PM stocks are now moving higher with gold. They have been lagging for some time but are on fire again. Great to see!

The Dow Jones index and several others look ready for a breather. The timing of these overbought charts bodes well for the seasonal December pause before the holiday rally. Time will tell.

Energy and financials are both underperforming the market and without their participation we will not see the indexes move much higher.

Continue to hold precious metals positions but be ready to lock in profits if we see the market reverse sharply. I am watching energy for a play but no setups at this time.

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Crude Oil and Natural Gas Commentary For Wednesday Evening

Crude oil closed down $1.65 at $76.72 a barrel today. Prices closed nearer the session low today, amid a firmer U.S. dollar and weaker U.S. stock indexes. Crude prices have been trending lower from the mid-October high. The next downside price objective for the crude oil bears is to produce a close below solid technical support at last week's low of $72.39.

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Natural gas closed down 22.6 cents at $4.536 today. Prices closed near the session low and set another fresh contract low today. Bulls have faded badly after showing some power recently. Bears have the solid overall near term technical advantage and have regained downside momentum this week. The next upside price objective for the bulls is closing prices above solid technical resistance at last week's high of $5.29.

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The U.S. dollar index closed up 29 points at 75.05 today. Prices closed near the session high on tepid short covering in a bear market. Bears still have the solid overall near term technical advantage. Bulls' next upside price objective is to close prices above solid technical resistance at 76.50.

How to Use Money Management Stops Effectively

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Crude Oil, Gasoline Tumble After U.S. Supplies Climb, Demand Drops

Crude oil and gasoline tumbled after a government report showed that inventories climbed last week as consumption declined. Supplies of crude oil rose 2.09 million barrels to 339.9 million, the highest level since August, the Energy Department said today. Gasoline supplies surged 4 million barrels to 214.1 million. Fuel demand slipped 2.6 percent as refineries reduced operating rates for the fourth time in five weeks.

“Prices should be much lower given how high inventories are,” said Chip Hodge, who oversees a $9 billion natural resource bond portfolio as senior managing director at MFC Global Investment Management in Boston. “There’s certainly no lack of oil. If I were an oil producer, I would be very happy because the fundamentals don’t justify these prices.” Crude oil for January delivery fell $1.69, or 2.2 percent, to $76.68 a barrel at 11:54 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $77.70 before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.

Gasoline for January delivery declined 4.71 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $1.9952 a gallon in New York. Heating oil for January delivery slipped 3.25 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $2.0455 a gallon.....Read the entire article.

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