Musings: Is Capital Discipline Re-emerging in The Natural Gas Market?

The European financial turmoil is roiling global debt, equity and currency markets. These markets in turn are impacting commodity markets and creating significant near term volatility. There doesn't appear to be much direction evident in commodity markets other than their reaction to global events. Weekly changes in crude oil inventories and natural gas injection volumes keep prices bouncing around.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil seems to be bouncing between $80 and $90 per barrel, although a leading oil trader says the price action has established a pattern of lower highs and lower lows leading him to sell crude oil futures every time they rise and buy them when they fall until that trade doesn't work.

The picture for natural gas prices appears less clear. A larger than expected injection of natural gas into storage was reported the week before last while a smaller than anticipated injection last week has kept prices unsettled. Natural gas in storage remains below year ago levels and about in the middle of the five year range. The weekly volatility reflects changes in weather and perceptions of industrial demand trends.

Increased concerns about future economic growth, as highlighted by the International Monetary Fund's reduced forecasts for U.S. and global economic growth in 2011 and 2012. These reduced economic growth estimates suggest the key to any recovery in natural gas prices in the near term will depend on falling supply growth rather than a demand increase......Read the entire Musings article.

Adam Hewison: Do You See the Trees In a Forest, Or Do You Just See the Forest?

There is a saying that goes like this “can’t see the forest for the trees” is a reference to people who get so involved with the details of an issue that they lose sight of the big picture.

If your involved in the markets, it is easy to fall into the trap of just looking at the minute or hourly charts, rather than considering the market as a whole. When you can’t see the market for the minutia, it means that you are deeply involved in a situation, and you are perhaps focusing too much on the inner workings of the market, and not enough on the big trends.

With all of this talk of problems in Greece, defaults, contagion and a host of other problems in Europe, it is easy for traders to get distracted, and not see the forest for the trees.

The most important element in trading in my opinion, is the direction the major trend for that market. It doesn’t really matter what the news is, if the market is doing something else. As traders I believe we have to look at the forest in this case the big trends in the marketplace.

Let’s look at them now: S&P 500 index major trend down. Gold major trend up. Metals major trend down. Crude oil major trend down. Dollar index major trend up. CRB index major trend down.
So, there you have it, all the major trends in all the markets we are dealing with right now.

Everything else is just individual trees, that don’t mean a heck of a lot in the big picture.
It takes a tremendous amount of energy to move a market and change a major trend. This kind of energy normally does not happen in one or two days. As they say in statistics, one data point does not make a trend.

Let's take a look at our Trend Analysis and Trade Triangles for Crude Oil......

As the equity markets go, so goes the price of crude oil. The November contract appears to be having some problems with areas of resistance at the $84.00 and $84.50 levels. With both our long term monthly and intermediate term Trade Triangles in a negative mode we expect this market to have another push down to test the $80 and possibly the $78 a barrel level. While this market is presently higher for the week, it is lower for the month and the quarter. Intermediate and Long term traders should continue to be short the crude oil market.

November crude oil closed up $1.43 a barrel at $82.64 today. Prices closed nearer the session high today as trading has turned very choppy this week. A firmer U.S. stock market and steady U.S. dollar index today did support fresh buying interest in crude. The crude bulls and bears are on a level near term technical playing field.

Monthly Trade Triangles for Long Term Trends = Negative
Weekly Trade Triangles for Intermediate Term Trends = Negative
Daily Trade Triangles for Short Term Trends = Positive
Combined Strength of Trend Score = – 75


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Precious Metals Charts Point to Lower Prices – Look Out!

From Chris Vermeulen at The Gold and Oil Guy......

Over the past week precious metal investors have had a wakeup call from their big shiny nest eggs. Last week’s free fall in both gold and silver spot prices was enough to get investors into a panic. More on this in a minute though…

The fall was triggered by three key factors which caused the powerful move down. The first factor is based on pure technical analysis (price and volume patterns). Because the metals had such a strong run up this summer and prices had moved to far too fast, it is only natural so see price correct back to a normal price level. 

In general any investment that surges in one direction in a short period of time almost always falls back down shortly after. As I stated in my weekly report on August 31^st, “gold is forming a topping pattern and all investors should take profits or tighten protective stops (exit orders)”.Three days later gold popped to the new high completing the pattern and was quickly sold off which continues to unfolding as we speak from $1920 down to $1532 in only a couple weeks.

The second factor which I think had the most power behind the drop were the margin requirements changes. This new rule literally overnight caused traders and investors holding to much of the metals in their account to liquidate (sell) their positions without having any say in the matter. That is when the most damage was done to the price of gold and silver.

The key factor was the US Dollar which rocketed higher and adding a lot of pressure to the metals. I also covered this in my Aug 31^st report in detail. Overall, past few years we have seen both gold and silver move in opposite direction of the dollar. I don’t expect that to change much going forward. Back in August the US Dollar was coiling (building power) and it was only a matter of time before it would explode to the up side and rallied. This high probability move in the dollar was what triggered me to exit our long gold positions shortly after. I expected the dollar rally to last a month or more and that means we would see a lot of pressure on equities and metals going forward.

Now keep in mind, if Greece or other countries continue to get worse then we could see the dollar and gold move higher together as they are seen as the safe haven at this time. But with the nature of the two I am anticipating a rising dollar and sideways trading range for gold.

Ok, so back to precious metals investor sentiment…

Last Friday and all of this week I have been getting emails from traders and friends saying they are going to sell their gold and silver because they are concerned metals will continue to fall and because many of them are now losing money after chasing prices higher through the summer. The good news is that one of my best indicators for helping to time market tops and bottoms is to just read my emails and answer the phone. 

During market tops, generally the final month when prices are soaring to new highs every day/week is when everyone contacts me and says they just bought gold or are about to buy more gold cause it’s such a great investment. Once I start getting 2-5 of these messages a day alarms start going off in my head. This works the same with market bottoms. So with everyone now in a panic and selling their positions I feel we are darn close to one if we did not see it already.

Let’s take a look at the charts......

Silver Spot / Futures Price Chart

As you can see on the hard right edge silver is forming a very similar pattern which happened this past spring. I would like to note that this type of pattern is typical with extreme market selloffs as to how they generally bottom. I am anticipating silver trades in this range for a couple months and that we could see lower prices in the near term. But my upside target for silver in the coming few months is the $35-$36 level.

Gold Spot / Futures Price Chart

Gold is doing much the same as silver but I have noticed that when gold falls hard the second dip generally does not make a new low as often. If we do get a new low, all the better for buying on the dip but overall I feel gold should trade sideways for a couple months. My upside target for gold is the $1750-$1775 area.

US Dollar Index Price Chart

The Dollar index is looking ripe for another bounce and possibly another rally to new highs in the coming week. If this happens then we should see the SP500 short position (SDS) which we took Tuesday afternoon (Sept 27^th) to continue rocketing another 5-8% in our favour again.

Mid-Week Trading Conclusion:

In short, I feel the US dollar is going to continue higher and that will put the most pressure on stocks, oil and silver. Depending how things evolve overseas gold could hold up and possibly rise with the dollar.

So far subscribers have pocketed over 40% gains this month using ETFs on the SP500, Dollar and Oil and are holding another winning trade in the SDS etf taking partial profits today. 

If you would like learn more about etf trading and receive my daily pre-market videos, intraday updates and detailed trade alerts which even the most novice trader can follow then join my free trading education newsletter and my premium trading service at The Gold and Oil Guy and take your emotions out of your trading!

Phil Flynn: United They Stand

United they stand, divided we fall and Greece's problems has Europe's back to the wall as divisions, divisions bring us down. So much for the euphoric rally on the hope and promise of a deal to meet Greece's debt obligations as divisions in the Euro Zone is stealing some of that incredible market momentum. This Greek tragedy continues to be a major driving force behind the value of oil and every stock and commodity around the globe.

The most obvious and direct impact on the price of oil is reflected in the value of the dollar. The day before yesterday when the market feared that a Greek default may lead to the end of the Euro Zone the dollar became the safe haven of last resort. The market feared that a breakup of the zone and a Greek default could create the same type of contagion mood the globe felt after the Lehman failure.

We see the market was predicting that an unmanaged Greek default would put the world into a deflationary downdraft. If Greece falls then what about Italy? Would they be next? How about Spain or Ireland? The market feared a freezing of the global economy and banking system as banks would refuse to deal with each other as they tried to determine their exposure to the Greek ruins.

Yet when the EU promised a deal that Europe would stand idly by while the world economy fell apart was well. Stocks and commodities soared across the board and the market now believes that there is no way that Europe would stand by while the global economic system fell apart.

In fact even a Financial Times report that said that a split over the terms of Greece’s second 109 billion Euro bail out developed wasn't enough to shake the confidence in the market that the EU would stand idly by while Rome or Athens burned. The FT said that" as many as seven of the bloc’s 17 members arguing for private creditors to swallow a bigger write down on their Greek bond holdings, according to senior European officials. The divisions have emerged amid mounting concerns that Athens’ funding needs are much bigger than estimated just two months ago. They threaten to unpick a painfully negotiated deal reached with private sector bond holders in July."

Still it did slow the buying as traders wait to see just what kind of deal would be done. We are still waiting.

The return of Libyan oil to the export market brought it the Brent/wti spread. We may have topped of course beware of a quick pop on positive bailout news. The API reported That crude oil increased by 568,000 barrels! Of Course the EIA should show a much larger increase as it catches up with the AP!.The API also showed a massive 4.63million barrel build in gasoline supply. Is anybody driving anymore?

We still feel the low for WTI oil is in for the year but we are nervous!

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Seven Month High in U.S. Dollar Muscles Crude Oil and Commodities Lower

We have been saying that the crude oil market is tied with the equity markets. As the equity markets go, so does crude oil. The November contract appears to be having some problems with an area of resistance at the $84.50 level.

With both our long term monthly and intermediate term Trade Triangles negative, we expect this market to have another push down to test the $80 level and possibly the $78 a barrel level. While this market is presently higher for the week, it is lower for the month and the quarter. Intermediate and Long term traders should continue to be short the crude oil market.

We are just two days short of the end of Q3 and the end of the month. How are these markets going to close for the quarter and for the week? Depending on which markets you are looking at, most markets are lower for the month, with the exception of the dollar index. The dollar index could possibly close at a seven month high on the monthly charts.

One thing is for certain, Europe is not the United States of America. In Europe there are too many areas of national pride for each individual country. I always believed this national trait would act as the Achilles’ heel in a euro zone economy. My view has not changed.

Can the banks be saved? We will let the markets answer that question for us.

November crude oil closed lower on Wednesday as it consolidates some of this week's rebound. The low range close sets the stage for a steady to lower opening on Thursday. Stochastics and the RSI are turning bullish hinting that a low might be in or is near. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 86.39 would temper the near term bearish outlook.

If November extends this month's decline, August's low crossing at 76.61 is the next downside target. First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 84.27. Second support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 86.39. First support is Monday's low crossing at 77.11. Second support is August's low crossing at 76.61.

Monthly Trade Triangles for Long Term Trends = Negative
Weekly Trade Triangles for Intermediate Term Trends = Negative
Daily Trade Triangles for Short Term Trends = Positive
Combined Strength of Trend Score = – 85


Trading 101...."How To Trade Market Sentiment"

Bertha Coombs: Cashing in on Crude

The likelihood of building a pipeline to carry new sources of oil from the northern part of the country to the south, with CNBC's Bertha Coombs. And it's up to President Obama to decide whether the pipeline should be built, over the objections of environmentalists.




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Rigzone: Crude Oil Diplomacy to the Rescue? Cuban Drilling off Keys to Begin by Year End

For 51 years the U.S. has imposed an economic embargo against Cuba, severely crippling the island's economy for its effrontery in choosing a socialist path for development, a policy confirmed and intensified in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Now the unlikeliest of economic interests may be bringing the two countries closer together, oil.

Specifically, oil deposits in the Florida Straits between Key West and Cuba.

Spain's largest oil company, Repsol-YPF, has contracted the massive Italian made Scarabeo 9 semi submersible oil rig, currently en route from Singapore, to arrive in the Florida Straits by the end of the year after the end of hurricane season to begin exploring Cuba's offshore reserves. Repsol-YPF, which drilled Cuba's first onshore well in 2004, intends initially to drill six wells with the Scarabeo 9 rig.

Cuba, which currently produces a paltry roughly 50,000 barrels of oil per day from onshore sources, is understandably keen to begin exploiting its offshore reserves, which estimates place between 5-20 billion barrels of crude in a 43,000 square mile drilling area containing 59 maritime fields it has designated off its northern coast. While Fidel Castro's close ally, Venezuelan Hugo Chávez currently dispatches 120,000 bpd to Cuba on very favorable financing terms, the arrangement is heavily dependent on the friendship between octogenarian Castro and cancer stricken Chávez, hardly a recipe for permanency.

While Repsol-YPF is the first out of the gate, other concessionaires include Norway's Statoil, India's state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Brazilian state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras. Note the total absence of U.S. oil companies, that'll punish those pesky Commies.....Read the entire Rigzone article.


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Oil N' Gold: Crude Oil Daily Technical Outlook For Wednesday Sept. 28th

The staff at Oil N Gold has been sticking to their long term Fibonacci numbers and it has served them well. What are they saying this morning......

Crude oil's recovery from 77.11 temporary low might extend further high. But in any case, we'll stay bearish as long as 90.52 resistance holds. We are still favoring the case that whole decline from 114.83 is ready to resume and break of 77.11 should send crude oil through 75.71 support to 70 psychological level next.

In the bigger picture, medium term rebound from 33.2 is treated as the second leg of consolidation pattern from 147.24 and should have finished at 114.83 already. Current decline should target next key cluster support at 64.23 (61.8% retracement of 33.2 to 114.83 at 64.38) next. Sustained break will pave the way to retest 33.2 low. On the upside, break of 90.52 resistance is needed to invalidate this view or we'll stay bearish in crude oil now.


Posted courtesy of Oil N' Gold.Com


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Don't Be Fooled By This Rally, Crude Oil Bears Maintain The Advantage

The crude oil market has been finding support around the $78 a barrel level. Today’s move to the upside helped alleviate some of the oversold condition that this market was experiencing. The rally triggered our short term Trade Triangle into a positive mode.

This was not enough based on both our long term monthly and intermediate term weekly Trade Triangles which remain in the negative column. As you may recall we are tying the crude oil market with the equity markets. As the equity markets go, so does crude oil at the moment. Intermediate and Long term traders should continue to be short the crude oil market.

November crude oil closed up $4.18 a barrel at $84.42 today. Prices closed near the session high today. A rallying U.S. stock market and weaker U.S. dollar index boosted crude today. The crude bulls did gain fresh upside near term technical momentum today. A bullish double bottom reversal pattern may be forming on the daily bar chart.

Monthly Trade Triangles for Long Term Trends = Negative
Weekly Trade Triangles for Intermediate Term Trends = Negative
Daily Trade Triangles for Short Term Trends = Positive
Combined Strength of Trend Score = – 75

Mike Paulenoff: Is Crude Oil Readying for More Downside?

If you are a regular reader here at The Crude Oil Trader you know that we share our numbers as well as the numbers and trades of other great traders and investors. We base our trades and views on the combined opinions of numerous trader/writers, and so should you. Today we would like to bring Mike Paulenoff into the mix.....

As of this moment, my optimal scenario for the nearby NYMEX oil price calls for a period of stability and/or a recovery rally that grinds into the 80.50-82.00 resistance area prior to another downside pivot that presses the price structure to new lows beneath 75.71 on the way to 70.00-65.00 thereafter.

At the risk of missing such a downleg in the absence of the anticipated recovery bounce, I will watch from the sidelines for a while longer prior to deciding if I should commit funds to a short position -- in the ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Crude Oil (SCO),  into NYMEX price weakness (though always a hazardous strategy to short oil into weakness).

That said, only a rally that sustains above 82.00 will neutralize the imminent threat of another plunge in oil prices and the U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO).