More On Gold

Posted on April 16, 2013April 16, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Indicators36 Comments

A potential low was formed overnight in precious metals. I suggest a snapback has good odds, as yesterday’s action produced yet more extreme oversold and overbearish flags, such as this:

Source: Bespoke

Daily Sentiment Index for gold and silver was down to 7 out of 100 at the start of the day, so I expect finished close to zero. Bullish percent for gold miners ended a second day at zero.

It’s akin to a stretched elastic band. Doesn’t mean it can’t go lower yet, but if so the relief rally would likely be bigger and faster. An obvious target for a relief rally would be the scene of the breakdown, which in gold would be around 1550. However, it would take a fairy powerful snapback to get us there and I doubt such a strong relief rally would occur if this is a new secular bear. So is it?

Many times I have documented reasons why gold is around the end of its secular bull: expensive value ratios versus stocks and real estate, solar cycle timings, bottoming out of real estate and (potentially) treasury yields, stock index p/es and p/bs having in various countries reached secular extreme lows. But this overall secular transition takes time and working out the timeline of developments is difficult.

We now see a potential bottoming in the stocks/gold ratio:

Source: Joe Weisenthal

We also have the CCI equally weighted commodities index now at the bottom of its large triangle. Further falls in commodities here would ensure a break down and pass another piece of evidence to the secular-bull-already-peaked camp. I believe the action for the remainder of this week is going to be telling. Either buyers step in significantly in gold (central banks or large investment funds buy it up) and drag precious metals back up, to eventually reveal it was a last shake-out of weak hands before a parabolic finale – or – buying interest is weak and by the end of the week precious metals have tumbled further to levels whereby the secular bull cannot be recaptured any time soon. Ironically that would be a parabolic finale, only the wrong way up.

So no time to delay, in my opinion. If you were in gold, like me, prior to the falls, then you either attack for a snapback or defend and close out or sit aside and do nothing until the dust settles. I’m sure you already made your choice, but for me if this is a new secular bear then I don’t want positions stranded further up and nor do I want to take a loss. I attack on weakness and sell into strength, and that works for me. Interestingly, yesterday was the biggest one day traffic for my site since I launched it. I imagine many were scrambling for info and ideas as they were holding precious metals and surprised by the action.

If it turns out gold did make a secular peak in 2011, then it did not make a typical parabolic secular top, but silver did. Gold instead rather made a topping range from then until last week, which is the other typical market top, if internals or indicators negatively diverge. Perhaps there were such divergences in that ‘fear’ susbided over this period, as the Eurozone finally got to grips with its debt issues, the US dollar potentially bottomed out, inflation did not materialise as expected – all reasons for/against gold.

If it didn’t make its secular top yet, then can we find other reasons for it to now do so? Gold performs well in an evironment of negative real interest rates, so if rates and yields are maintained negigible but inflation picks up it could reassert itself. For inflation to pick up it needs commodities as a whole to recapture money flows, which could occur if growth can be maintained and money velocity picks up. Leading indicators currently suggest this could occur, but there is some demand-supply slack to overcome. Another support for gold is central bank balance sheets and money supply, which can dilute currency in relation to gold. Below we see global money supply growth correlating with gold’s performance:

And here we see recent growth in the money supply around the world. Only the US has weakened, but collectively the global trend is still up. It would take a reversal in policy to change this. Could such a policy change be about to happen? Potentially, if growth and jobs pick up and become more entrenched. However, right now, we are seeing doubling up in efforts in Japan, and no change elsewhere.

Source: Moneymovesmarkets

Central bank balance sheets show a similar apparent correlation with gold’s trend, and again, it would take a reversal in policies, an reduction in or end to QE to change the balance sheet trend. Once again, maybe gold’s decline is telegraphing this, but right now we are seeing more QE in Japan rather than less.

Of course it is not set in stone that gold should rise in line with balance sheets and money supply. Measured against other commodities, gold is overpriced and has advanced too far too fast. In short, there are multiple ways to value gold, and some argue for a (protracted) decline, some argue for further upside, but the bottom line is this. As things stand right now, gold is perceived as unattractive, because central bank policies have not (this far) brought about raging inflation, weak growth low rates and low fear is the general global situation, which persuades investors into stocks and real estate, particularly as both are historically cheap relative to gold, and there has been a build up in inventories in most commodities. So it depends on what happens next, or what is perceived to happen next. Will commodities outperform as late cyclicals if stocks make a top here? Is there to be a solar max later this year which inspires speculation and inflation? Is money velocity about to pick up in a meaningful way as growth becomes entrenched, leading to inflationary froth? Or is growth to weaken again leading central banks to even greater stimulus, which inspires money into gold again? Or is moderate growth and low inflation to be the norm ahead, with central banks gradually easing off and a new K-spring already underway with momentum in stocks and real estate?

If gold still has unfinished business in any of these areas, then I suggest we should see swift repairs and solid buying interest, to reveal it was a last shake out of weak hands. If not we should see a weak response to the precious metals rout and the CCI commodities index breaking from its large triangle. An important few days.

Gold

Posted on April 15, 2013April 15, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Indicators, Solar Cycles50 Comments

As per comments I have attacked this morning into further selling. Added to gold and silver, and will add to miners later. Chart at end of Friday shows gold miners bullish percent hit zero and high volume day which previously correlated with bottoms:

Source: Stockcharts / CobraMV

I am playing for the mean reversion rally, the snapback, pending resolution of whether gold remains in a secular bull or topped out in 2011. See the last secular bull for possible echoes – both green circle triangle breakdowns could apply here, with the higher the termination of the secular bull:

Source: ActingMan / Fred

However, regarding the lower green circle, I maintain that we are not in 1975 by mirror, but 1979 or 1981, depending on whether we remain in the secular bull or not. There is a history of assets shaking out weak hands in a final flush before going on to make a parabolic peak. Gold also did this in late 1978, just over 12 months before making its secular parabolic peak:

Source: SeekingAlpha

Gold has now dropped just over 20% from its 2011 peak.

So three possible scenarios for you:

1. Are we in 1975, at the start of a mid-bull cyclical bear? I don’t believe so, as it does not fit with solar cycle timing. That mid-70s correction was the half-way point for the gold secular bull, but by gold-stocks and gold-real estate ratios we are close to the end, and the gold secular bull is a good 5 years older in duration at this point.

2. Are we at the turn of 1978 into 1979, just over a year from the secular top? I still rate this as the most likely, but it is very much in the balance. If this is so, then we should quickly see a recovery in gold, now that the weak hands have been shaken out and the key technical levels broken. A large and final move up to a peak in 2014 would fit very well with my solar cycling.

3. Lastly, are we in 1981, breaking down from a secular bull that in this case ended in 2011? I rate this as higher probabilty than 1. and less than 2. There is the possibility that the smoothed solar max already occurred, plus most stock indices hit secular low valutations. Stocks-commodities and real estate-commodities ratios hit low enough by secular history, if not absolute extremes.

If the third scenario is correct, then the danger is that gold falls long and hard before recovering. Although I previously showed the CCI to have already corrected a large amount from its 2011 peak versus its likely secular bottom, gold has been the commodity that has held up the best, and thus has potentially the furthest to fall. Nonetheless, nothing goes down in a straight line, and with overbearish/oversold extremes already in play, I am attacking for a bounce and will attack lower from here.

Friday Update

Posted on April 12, 2013April 12, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Currencies, Indicators, Macro, Stocks26 Comments

The SP500 has pushed up to the 1600 zone, which fits with the Birinyi/Bannister target, in a potential overthrow move. Plus this weekend marks the shift from the lunar positive to the lunar negative period, and a geomagnetic storm is predicted to be on its way. Lastly, economic surprises for the main regions have been in collapse and a change in trend in this indicator has previously led tops in the market. So collectively reasons for a top here.

However an opposing case can be made too. We don’t see particular degradation in stocks breadth and the SP500 has broken out into clear air. We see a strong/stable position in leading indicators. Here is the latest OECD collection:

Source: OECD

Plus CB reported Japan leading indicators at +1.0, in the first of this month’s updates. Using narrow money the updated picture is one of potentially moderating growth ahead, but as yet no significant downturn.

Source: Moneymovesmarkets

In terms of overbought and overbullish, some measures for equities are elevated, but there is a lack of major warning signs. Conversely we do see extremes in sentiment versus some commodities and commodity related sectors but the other way: bearish.

If you are following the SP500 or Nikkei then things look to be overwhelmingly bullish, but it should be noted that these are the two countries with the most aggressive central bank stimulus/easing programmes. A wider look at pro-risk is captured through combining the world stock index, equally weighted commodities index, euro-usd and 10 year treasury yields:

Source: Bloomberg

We see collective behaviour in pro-risk, but with under- and out-performers. So, up from June to Sept 2012, down to mid-November, up then to the turn of January into February, down into the end of last week. Could we now be the start of a new collective uptrend for pro-risk? Again, followers of the SP500 or Nikkei might find that hard to believe, but the wider look at pro-risk suggests it could be possible, and a rotation in leadership if of course feasible. The collective picture for pro-risk fits with 5-models-in-alignment:

https://solarcycles.net/2013/01/09/tools-for-2013/

Namely, a pullback from the end of Jan to Mar/April, then a final rally into around June time, to either end the cyclical bull (in my primary scenario) or produce a significant swing top (in my alternative scenario).

With US earnings season just getting under way, there is another potential mover in the markets. Let’s see.

More In The Balance

Posted on April 9, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Indicators, Inflation, Macro, Solar Cycles, Stocks19 Comments

Secular commodities peak behind or ahead? Here we go again.

The last secular bear in commodities, circa 1980-2000, lost 50% in nominal value from top to bottom. The previous secular bear, circa 1948-1968 lost a third of its value top to bottom. Assume a secular bear in commodities began following the peak in 2011, then drawing on those past events we could estimate a secular bear bottom in the zone shown:

Source: MCRI

We could go further back in time to average in more secular commodity bears, but I suggest the evironment was different, pre fiat capital era, pre free globalised markets, and pre inflationary government policies. The 1980-2000 secular commodities bear has a sideways bias, that is also shared by the 1948-1968 secular bear, and we see overall sideways action in secular equities bears too – and these are all because of modern government policies of inflation. In real inflation-adjusted terms, we see more of a downward bias, compared to the nominal.

The 1980-2000 commodities bear proceeded in waves, i.e. cyclical bulls and bears within an overall secular bear, and this too is similar to progress in secular stocks bears. If the secular bull peak for commodities is already in, back in 2011, then the chart above shows that we would already be getting towards around half way between secular bear top and bottom. Given that the secular bear progresses in waves, then a wave up ought to be soon due, perhaps like the 1982-1984 cyclical bull, post 1980 peak. As it happens, multiple commodities are currently at levels of extreme bearish sentiment, including corn, silver, copper, soybean meal and sugar, which would provide the fuel for such a potential rally. That said, overbearish or oversold increases the likelihood of a mean reversion or relief rally, but on occasion these extremes can persist and test patience, until the evironment becomes more supportive. So how does demand and supply look currently in some key commodities?

Natural gas shows a recent tightening of demand and supply, as inventories are dipping beneath the historic average. Nothing extreme though:

Crude oil inventories are plentiful, which is a depressant on price:

Source: Bespoke

Both zinc and copper show increasing inventories. Both in notably different positions to 2008 when commodities made a big interim peak.

Cereals, i.e. wheat, rice, maize, show a fairly steady position, with inventories largely tracking sideways over the last 5 years:

Source: FAO

And lastly to gold. Demand decreased last year on the year before, but remains high, with central bank and investor demand the main areas of growth the last few years:

Source: Moneygame

Whilst supply has been growing since a bottom in 2008, to a now all time high:

Source: ZealLLC

In summary, the overall demand-supply situation in these key commodities is no backdrop to a major rally, at least not as things currently stand. But to return to the opening question of whether a secular commodities peak is behind or ahead of us, the clues may still be in gold. If the period since 2000 is a K-winter then gold should be the leading asset. If demand slack in other commodities reflects recent weak economic growth, then the picture for gold is more complicated, as it is less a commodity and more a hard currency. Gold can thrive in conditions of negative real interest rates and money printing (or currency dilution). That said, it is also an inflation hedge and depressed commodity prices are doing nothing to convey troubling inflation expectations. As gold is sensitive to investor interest, were there to be a shift in stance from central bank away from negligible rates and currency diluting policy action, we might have conditions in place for an enduring secular bear. Indeed, this is what I predict will happen, the question is when? Does gold have a parabolic rise left in it yet, to end its secular bull, or did that occur in 2011 with silver making such a blow-off move?

This next chart shows how we are into the region of a secular transition in stocks and real estate versus gold. Gold is relatively expensive versus both and a rounded bottoming in the ratios could be in progress:

Source: Sharelynx

The ratios are low enough to justify a secular reversal, or they could yet break lower to around 1980’s levels to complete the secular extreme relative valuation. The curiosity is the Q ratio, which together with CAPE for US stocks, leads some analysts to expect steep falls in US equities from here, such as to 450 on the SP500 ( Russell Napier) to rectify it. I doubt it because of secular low valuations reached already on other stock indices around the world in this secular bear: such as Japan sub p/b 1, PIIGS p/es between 2 and 7, Germany, UK and Hong Kong all reaching below 10. In the last secular stocks bear, Japan only reached a low of p/e 20, so not all indices necessarily have to wash out, as long as most do.

Add in treasury bonds, due a reversal out of a 3 decade secular bull market and potentially bottoming around now along with money velocity, and consider the rounded bottoming in progress in many real estate markets around the world, and we have a window, and evidence, here for a broad secular transition, out of a K-winter and into a K-spring, switching from a secular commodities bull to a secular stocks bull, to a new secular treasuries bear and a new bull market in real estate.

The US dollar also appears primed for a new bull market, following a decade long bear. Interestingly, although the perception is that commodities generally advance when the US dollar is declining, in fact the last secular commodities bull peak took place against a sideways dollar, and the previous two commodities peaks against a rising dollar. In the secular commodities bull since 2000 we have seen more periods of commodities rising whilst the dollar has been falling, but we have also seen periods of them moving together. In summary, it does not appear that the fortunes of the USD particularly correlate to the fortunes of commodities. So what other clues can we use to assess if commodities made a secular peak in 2011 instead of biding time before a secular peak erupts ahead?

Well, I’ve left out solar cycles until now so time to bring them in. My analysis shows commodities making secular tops close to solar maximums. Danny suggested that food and metal peaks tend to occur at different times. It is true that historically individual commodities have peaked at different times. Here is a brief summary of previous secular commodities bull peaks:

1917 solar peak: copper peaked 5 months before, wheat 4 months before, corn dead on the solar peak, silver not until 27 months after.

1947 solar peak: oats peaked 6 months after, wheat 6 months after, corn 7 months after, copper 15 months after.

1979/80 solar peak: copper peaked dead on, gold peaked 1 month after, oil 4 months after, sugar 9 months after.

There is the possibility that the tighter packing to the solar peak in 1979/80 could be related to the free-est, fast-est, most globalised conditions to enable solar-related speculation to be at its most potent, but if we exclude that then we are left between the historic examples to expect commodities to make individual peaks at various times around the solar peak window. That peak is currently anticipated for Autumn/Fall 2013. Could the peaks in copper, silver, and cotton in 2011 be near enough to be within range for solar validation? Possibly, but a little stretched, and when we consider the likes of oil and wheat made their peaks back in 2008, that becomes then too far away.

What I have previously explained is that secular asset peaks around solar maximums are speculative. The solar activity brings about buying and speculation behaviours in humans through biological changes. Spikes in inflation occur at each solar maximum as shown, within a range of about a year either side:

Therefore I suggest it is possible through a feedback looping of commodity speculation and inflation to bring about a secular commodities peak ahead, even with looser inventories. Once demand increases and the perception is of a change in trend in inventories (rather than accute inventories) then the status quo can quickly change. However, there is no doubt that the looser inventories and weaker Chinese / global growth are a headwind. After all, there is nothing magical about the solar influence, it is just one influence in sentiment. I have also argued that the secular asset of the time becomes the target of the solar-influenced speculation, and if the perception is currently that commodities and equities have already switched secular position, then could stocks become the target of the speculative frenzy? I can’t rule it out. However, it remains that oil and other commodities tend to be late cyclicals, making a peak after stocks, so when stocks make their swing or cyclical peak, we could then see a move into commodities. As gold has built out a sideways range near its secular highs, it could then potentially break out, giving the technical break into clear air to inspire a speculative frenzy.

In conclusion, the call as to whether a secular commodities peak is ahead or behind us remains a tough one, very much in the balance. But it comes down to how to trade this, until evidence aligns more decisively one way or the other (gold breaks up or down, CCI breaks up or down, sunspots make a new high, commodities take over as the outperforming class or equities roar away). I am already positioned long a basket of commodities. Because of the uncertainty I do not wish to add here, despite the overbearish extremes. However, if commodities did peak in 2011 then as per the first chart the CCI is reaching towards a price level and time point where it is due a cyclical bull rally soon. I therefore believe that I can likely make a profitable trade out of commodities regardless of their secular position, with a little patience.

Money Velocity

Posted on April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 Posted in Bonds, Commodities, Indicators, Macro, Solar Cycles14 Comments

The Fed, BOE and BOJ have all been busy creating money out of thin air to make purchases in the bond market. The institutions selling the bonds then have new money in their accounts and so this produces an increase in the money supply. The intention is to stimulate the economy by increasing the money supply, once interest rate cuts have been exhausted. The ECB has this kind of direct action on standby. The BOJ has just doubled its purchases. The result of these policies is that we have seen a large and unprecedented increase in the world’s money supply over the last few years:

Source: Maomoney-maoproblems

As more money chases the same amount of goods and services, this clearly has the potential for massive inflation. Yet, so far, the banks and institutions have largely sat on their increased reserves. The new money is parked, rather than circulating in the economy. This shows the lack of confidence in growth and a persistence of fear. So the increase in the money supply has been offset by a lack of money velocity. Here are money velocity charts for Japan, the Eurozone and the US, in order:

Source: Nowandfutures

On the US chart, which is longer term, we see the same long term cycling in money velocity as in treasury yields: This perhaps makes sense as money velocity would tend to be lower when money is being parked into treasury bonds in an enduring trend, and vice versa. So, are we going to see money velocity about to turn upwards, at the same time as treasuries starting a new long term bear market? Certainly, with treasury bonds up to 20 years in duration paying negative real returns (using official CPI), the potential is there. Purchasers of treasuries are buying something offering a guaranteed loss, and the main reason for that is capital preservation: they expect equities, real estate and commodities to do worse. If confidence is restored in growth and pro-risk assets then we could expect a significant reversal in money flows, out of bonds. Aggregating the US money velocity measures and zooming in on the last few years we see have seen a gradual flattening out, which raises the potential this could begin to rise in 2013: By my solar cycles work, this is indeed what should occur. Growthflation, money bidding up the secular pro-risk asset into a peak, money reversing out of treasury bonds. But we need to see velocity start to pick up, rather than flatline. If we look back at our closest historical mirror, 1947, then in the US longer term velocity chart further up we can see that velocity just reversed out of its downtrend with about a year to go before the solar/secular commodities peak. Treasury bonds also topped around a year before the solar peak, which confirms the correlation between the bonds and velocity. So, with the solar peak expected around Fall / Autumn 2013, did treasury bonds top out and yields bottom some time last year? They potentially did, subject to where they go from here:

Source: stockcharts

And using the money multiplier measure of velocity, we also see potential this bottomed too:

Source: St Louis Fed

Now let’s say I’m wrong about the solar maximum correlation. Unless you believe the system is broken and/or not cleansed in the cleansing cycle since 2000, then a natural cycle of growth should still take hold at some point – only the timing would differ. Once the entrenched growth becomes clear then the wall of money will be rapidly tempted out of cash reserves and bonds as it remains that they are paying negative real returns. Unless central banks then very swiftly neutralise all the new money and the easy conditions – and with history as our guide this is unlikely – then there is a high risk of major inflation in the prices of goods and in pro-risk assets. If we get such an inflationary episode, we should see the feedback looping with commodities (as hard asset inflation hedges) to deliver the secular parabolic finale that I anticipate. The alternative scenarios would be these. One, we continue to only muster low and spotty growth, nothing entrenched or sustained, which keeps the wall of money largely parked, central banks on the accelerator, and stocks gently rising. Two, all the central bank interference has prevented the cleansing cycle from doing its work, and we need a big deflationary episode before any genuine growth can be mustered. I don’t rate either of these scenarios as likely. I believe we have seen a normal cleansing cycle, with equities and real estate valuation sufficiently washed out, and private sector balance sheets significantly repaired (public sector clearly not – but it is the private sector that is the engine of growth – and public debt should not reach crunch point in the major economies until later this century on current trends). Plus the cleansing cycle has been of normal duration and characteristics. The central bank action did not succeed in restoring natural growth in this period – the cycle was king – but rather their actions are likely to supercharge what happens next. With history as our guide, it is likely that central banks will be behind the curve as inflation and speculation rapidly escalate, and with little appetite to reverse or neutralise all the new money supply. Bring back in my solar cycling theory, and we are primed for that to occur 2013 into 2014, before excessive commodity prices and belated central bank tightening tip us into a global recession again. If leading economic indicators start to turn down again, then central banks are likely to respond again, with yet more stimulus. Perhaps the ECB would join the QEers. But another cycle of indicators and asset prices falling over the next few months would start to stretch the solar timing. So I’m keen to see if the current growth is the one that sticks, and that leading indicators stay in the positive. The next chart suggests that this may be so:

Source: Moneymovesmarkets

The leading indicator of leading indicator has just lately strengthened again instead of tumbling. If the growth can stick here, then I expect the rest to fall into place: money flows out of treasury bonds, money velocity to pick up, commodity price escalation and inflation, and all to the timing of the solar maximum. Here’s a final chart that may be predicting this:

Source: Nowandfutures

In The Balance

Posted on April 4, 2013 Posted in Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Indicators, Inflation, Macro, Real Estate, Solar Cycles, Stocks51 Comments

Time for an updated look at the big picture: is a secular commodities peak ahead or behind us?

Here is the equally weighted commodities index. It remains in the nose of a large triangle. A decisive break down through the twin supports will add weight to a secular commodities peak having already occurred in 2011, whereas an upwards break beyond down sloping resistance will add weight to a secular bull still in tact.

Source: MCRI

By solar/secular history, a secular commodities peak normally occurs around or closely following a solar maximum. However, that too remains in the balance as shown by the alternate predictions in the SIDC chart below – either a solar peak occurred at the turn of 2012 or a solar peak is ahead later this year.

Source: SIDC

The most common consensus remains that the solar peak is rather ahead than behind us, with the median forecast for Autumn/Fall 2013. Planetary models predict a spike in sunspot action around Sept/Oct 2013 and some physicists also predict a burst in activity later this year, which would fulfil the NOAA red line prediction below:

However, until such a flurry is seen, it remains unresolved.

Danny challenged the 33 year secular commodities peak and solar peak correlation with this chart:

It is an ultra long term modelling of commodity prices, to which I have added the markers to show when the industrial revolution began and when the gold standard was abolished. It can be seen that the correlation in solar peaks and commodities peaks largely failed prior to the industrial revolution. Understand that prior to this time there were only localised markets for commodities, little storage, and almost nothing in the way of demand and supply matching. Farmers tended to grow their usual crop, bring it to market, get the best price they could for it, and anything unsold went to waste. For a natural cycle that influences collective human behaviour to manifest itself, I suggest optimum conditions are instant, globalised, free markets, like we have in the current day and age. In pre-revolution conditions, it would have been impossible to draw out real cycles from slow, localised, restricted and fragmented markets. I don’t see that part of the chart as valid therefore. See also below how the solar/secular oscillation in the Dow-gold ratio became pronounced after the freeing of gold and paper:

Source: Sharelynx

So, returning to the ultra long term commodities price chart above, we see an broken success rate (as shown by the circles) in the fiat era and between the industrial revolution and fiat era two successes and a potential inversion or double failure. However we classify that anomaly, such a failure could potentially reoccur in the future – unless it was the result of a non-free, slow, localised era. But a failure amongst a majority of successes would be in line with all other ‘real’ trading disciplines, i.e. there is no holy grail, nothing that works all the time, just things that work most of the time. To sum up, the solar peak is probably ahead, and the secular commodities peak is probably ahead in line with that.

Turning to climate and agricultural commodities, are we going to see another year of extreme temperatures and natural disasters, which would drive up commodity prices? The next chart reveals that the last two years have not been as severe as a cluster before that. However, they were both La Nina years, which has a cooling effect.

Source: NOAA

This year, a largely neutral year is expected (no dominance of La Nina – or El Nino either) so there is the potential for a bigger bar – unless the long term trend is now reversing.

Global warming is one factor, global wierding (rate of natural disasters) another, and in the US, drought conditions at the start of 2013 are displaying patterns that could unfold into the equivalent of the worst drought years in history. Grains took a big hit in price this last week due to higher than expected plantings and stockpiles, but there remains the potential that climate developments could drive agricultural commodities higher again in the remainder of the year.

Rising commodity prices and inflation together make a mutually reinforcing feedback loop. Escalating commodity prices drive up inflation and escalating inflation attracts money into commodities as an inflation hedge. So how do inflation expectations look, aside any climate developments? The next chart shows expectations have been on the rise since Q3 2012, with a divergence in gold that we might expect will be rectified:

Source: M Boesler

If gold is not to make up that ground, then we might expect inflation expectations to fall instead – i.e. a period of deflation would be ahead.

Turning to valuations, gold is historically expensive here versus stocks and real estate, but could yet become more extreme expensive before reversing.

Source: Fred

Source: Approximity

All 3 charts reveal gold’s meteoric relative rise in price to stocks and real estate since 2000. The question is, does it have a parabolic finale yet to come in which it reaches the obvious zones, or is going to stop short and is already in relative decline?

If gold has already made its secular top (in 2011), then we would expect stocks to be now in a new secular bull. So did stocks wash out sufficiently, in terms of price/earnings and price/book valuations, to make it likely the secular bear is over? So far in the secular bear, the FTSE reached a p/e of 7, the Dax 9, the Hang Seng 8, the SP500 and Dow 9. The Nikkei only reached 13, but it made a p/b ratio of under 1. Broadly speaking, they are all low enough to satisfy secular bear cleansing, and we can add to that the extreme low p/es reached in the PIIGS at the height of the Eurozone crisis. If we look at other valuation measures in relation to the SP500 then we get a different picture:

Source: Dshort

These four valuations combined suggest the secular bear has not washed through sufficiently, and that current valuations are closer to a top than a bottom. However, we ought to note the much higher top in 2000 and question whether central bank policies of unprecedented easing and stimulus have dragged all these measures permanently higher.

US indices aside, we have reasonable evidence from around the world that secular cleansing could be largely complete in terms of valuations reached at the bottom of the falls in 2011. Plus this year we have what appears to be a new secular bull break out in the Japanese indices.

What about treasuries? This secular transition should also be accompanied by a secular transition in treasuries from a long term bull market to a new long term bear. Did treauries top – and yields bottom – in 2012? It remains to be seen as it is currently too technically ambiguous to say with confidence.

Source: Stockcharts

Using history as our guide, if a secular commodities peak is ahead later this year (and potentially into H1 2014), then we should see a topping process in equities by around mid-year whilst commodities take over as the outperforming class. A feedback looping between inflation and commodities should occur, until too expensive commodity prices and tightening yields help push the economy into recession. That recession should be fairly mild, with stocks making a shallow bear market, whilst commodities plunge harder, in the mirror of their preceding parabolic escalation. The bottom of that shallow stocks bear would be the momentum ‘go’ point for the new secular stocks bull.

Alternatively, if a secular commodities peak already occurred in 2011, then secular bull momentum in stocks should already be underway, and we might point to action in the Nikkei or SP500 in 2013 as supporting evidence. The recession that should follow the secular commodities peak occurred then in 2011-12, with the Eurozone and the UK two notable areas that experienced this. It was not a world recession however, and we did not see typical cyclical stocks bull topping bells ringing preceding it. If we look at an overlay of the CCI commodities index on the MSCI World stock index, we can see that they topped together in April/May 2011:

Source: Bloomberg

We did see outperformance in commodities, but not to the degree of 2008, or the last secular commodities bull peak of 1980. But silver did make a suitable parabolic blow-off in price.

To sum up, a case can be made for both competing scenarios: a secular commodities peak ahead or behind us in 2011. It remains in the balance, but not indefinitely. The CCI commodities index will break one way or the other. Gold will catch up to inflation expectations, or inflation expectations will fall. Sunspot evidence will come in more definitely in favour of a solar peak ahead or behind. Climate evidence as 2013 unfolds will drive agricultural commodities to escalating or plummeting prices. Equities will maintain secular bull momentum and outperformance of equities, or they will begin to make a topping process whilst commodities outperform.

What about a third scenario: both equities and commodities drop here into a bear market, with treasuries the beneficiary? For that to occur, we should still need to see a topping process in stocks whilst leading indicators and internals deteriorate. Currently, we do not see major warning flags in either, with leading indicators and breadth supportive. However, we have lately seen changes in trend in economic surprises, both in the US and Europe:

This coincides with the change in geomagnetism trend, and perhaps provides fuel for a pullback. I do not believe, however, that we have evidence for more than a swing pullback at this point, but it could become part of a more significant topping process that lasts several months.

If we pull back and look at the wider environment for assets, we largely/generally have ultra low rates, central bank support, money supply growth, cash and bonds paying negligible or negative real returns, stock yields exceeding bond yields, low/spotty economic growth and not excessive inflation, and historically below average valuations for stocks and real estate. This is a fairly positive environment in which equities and housing can attract money flows, and that is what we are seeing. It would take another sharp slowdown in the world or another debt-related crisis coming to the fore somewhere, for this to change. The question is whether we have seen a sufficient cycle of cleansing since 2000 and sufficient foot-on-the-accelerator central bank action to now sustain growth. If growth can stick and even accelerate, then we have better chances of reaching growthlationary froth and the commodities/inflation feedback loop, as all the inflationary stimulus and easing could quickly become problematic, with faster money flows out of bonds.

Finally, a few more potential clues as to the likely winner in the scenarios. Crude oil inventories are approaching a record, which has the potential to pull the rug from under crude prices if growth stumbles. Inflation should make a bigger peak 5 years after 2008, which would be this year, based on secular/solar history. Emerging markets manufacturing surveys (a leading indicator) picked up to 52.6 in March (over 50 is growth), of which China is the biggest commodity consumer. Commodities generally move opposite to the US dollar, as they are priced in US dollars, and the US dollar could be ripe for a sustained decline as speculator positions hit a record and this has previously led a swing top.

In conclusion, there remains no clear winner, with good evidence supporting a secular commodities peak ahead, or that it occurred already in 2011 and a new secular stocks bull is in progress. I maintain that the balance of probability lies with the secular commodities peak being ahead in H2 2013 – H1 2014, which should mean a cyclical stocks bull top occurring by mid-year 2013. However, if that is the case, then it should only give rise to a shallow stocks bear before new secular bull momentum. I am positioned for a secular commodities bull finale ahead, with significant exposure to precious metals, energy and agricultural commodities. I have only a position in Russia by way of equities exposure. So there is my concern: if the alternative scenario is the correct one, then my current portfolio will perform badly. However, if commodities did top in 2011, there should be an ‘echo’ bounce around 3-4 years later in line with history (as the commodities supply-demand story is not resolved overnight), which would be a belated opportunity to make some profits on those positions, with correct timing. In the meantime, evidence would increase in favour of a new secular stocks bull being underway and I would add trades there.

I will continue to weigh this up as developments come to light. Your views and any additional evidence very welcome. I have personally found that we have reached a period of time in the markets, and perhaps in my progress, where I don’t really feel there are any ‘experts’ out there I can rely on. I believe this is the difficulty of trying to navigate a secular transition, which in effect takes several years.

As Things Stand

Posted on March 28, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Currencies, Indicators, Lunar Cycles, Macro, Solar Cycles, Stocks33 Comments

The latest CB leading indicator summary looks unequivocally strong:

Source: Conference Board

US economic surprises are also positive and in an uptrend:

Source: Ed Yardeni

However Eurozone economic surprises are conversely in a downtrend, and the relationship shown below suggests this disparity is the dominant factor in the declining Euro v USD FX.

Source: Beleggenopdegolven

If we look at Eur-USD together with other specific pro-risk proxies, namely the MSCI World Stock Index, the CCI Commodities index and 30 Year Treasury Yields, this is the picture:

Source: Bloomberg

The collective trend was up from November to the end of January. Since then it would appear that we have been in consolidation/correction mode – and this is a fit with the 5-models-in-alignment (see my Tools For 2013 post).

Currently, cheap and unloved assets are Euro, coffee, sugar and gold miners, whilst those reaching into overbought and overbullish zones include the US Dollar, Dow Transports and SP500. If we look at the bullish percent over call/put ratio for the SP500 we can see that we have been recently oscillating in the frothy zone which led to a swing top twice in 2012. However, 2010 and 2011 show things could potentially get frothier, with spikes up to 150.

The CCI Commodities Index and crude oil are both into the noses of large triangles, suggesting an imminent break out one way or the other. Here is crude:

Crude has accelerated this last week with good momentum, but now encounters resistance. It does not have fundamental support from stockpiles, as they continue to be above seasonal average, but I suggest it is the global growth story that is the main reason for the advance.

Meanwhile, coffee, sugar and some other agricultural commodities are at secular bull rising support, which also puts them at a key decision point – either a break down or the start of a new upleg. I still believe the greatest likelihood is of commodities taking off and becoming the outperforming class going forward (based on sunspots, secular history, late cyclicals), and I am positioned accordingly. However, I continue to wait for specific supporting evidence to confirm this, namely a new high in sunspots, a technical break out in the CCI, and for any pullback in stocks to be counter-accompanied by an advance in commodities.

This Saturday is the start of the lunar positive period. Is there a ‘highest probability’ stock index trade on offer? Well, there is now a clear change in the geomagnetism trend, as shown here:

A lower low and a lower high means the geomagnetic trend can no longer be classed as up. In addition, there is some frothiness in stocks as identified above. Therefore, as per the make up of my highest probability trading analysis, I am not going to take this one.

I am now back in England.

The Lunar Edge

Posted on March 24, 2013March 24, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Lunar Cycles, Stocks54 Comments

In my last post I suggested that using lunar phase oscillation would increase the probability of a trade. There are several papers that demonstrate this lunar edge in the markets, and underlying this is a body of research relating lunar phases to moods. The period into and around full moons can bring about pessimism in humans, and this endures despite the advent of artificial lighting. The period into and around new moons is conversely often one of optimism.

To verify the relationship in the markets for myself, I split the lunar month into the two opposing periods and studied data from the last 20 years (which covers multiple cyclical bulls and bears within secular bulls and bears) to assess any difference in returns between buying at the start of the positive lunar period and closing at the end of it, to buying at the start of the negative lunar period and closing at the end of it. Here is the summary of results for four indices:

All three stock indices plus the commodities index displayed a lunar edge when totalling returns over 20 years, which means there was relatively more buying-up of pro-risk assets into and around new moons, compared to full moons. The commodities index displayed the weakest edge over the period, so I suggest lunar oscillation is best pursued through the stock indices, and of those, Singapore and Germany revealed the greatest differential. This is in line with the findings of Dichev and Janes, who also identified greater lunar differential in the Dax and Straits compared to some other indices.

I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that the lunar edge in both the Dax and the Straits is pretty massive and compelling. Understand that a lunar month differs from a calendar month so that new and full moons move through the months over the years. That means we are not confusing calendar phenomena here, such as end of month or quarter window dressing. In the case of the Dax, almost all the 20-year return came from within the positive lunar periods. Nonetheless, it would still have been better to buy and hold for 20 years than only participate during the positive lunar periods, as there was an extra 17% on offer in the negative lunar periods. However, in the case of the Singapore stock index, not only would ‘long’ participation restricted to the positive lunar periods have returned more than buy-and-hold, but additionally shorting the lunar negative period would have added even more to overall returns.

To return to my opening comments from the last post, nothing works all the time, but some things work most of the time. Lunar phase oscillation is such a phenomenon. It takes persistence through successes and failures to draw out the lunar edge, but the edge is real and profitable. The next table breaks down the Dax returns by year, revealing how the 132% differential built up. As can be seen, not all years demonstrated a positive lunar edge, and the gaps in returns varied year to year.

Drilling down one level further, if I show a sample year from Singapore’s history with an impressive differential, it can be seen that not all lunar months within the year demonstrated a positive lunar edge, but most did.

So some years fail, and some months fail, but most years and months successfully return a lunar edge. This fits with my expectations, because lunar phasing influences market sentiment but other phenomena are also influential in stock market performance. So we shouldn’t expect ‘without fail’ but ‘more often than not’.

I suggest there are two trades to consider. The first trade would be a pair on the Singapore Straits: long the positive lunar fortnight, then short the negative lunar fortnight (this aims to capture the negative return made over 20 years into and around full moons). The second trade would be just long the positive lunar fortnight on the Dax, staying out of the market during the negative period (this aims to capture the biggest nominal return of all the indices over 20 years, made on the positive lunar fortnights by the Dax). A ‘failure’ month or year then depends on which of these trades we are studying – i.e. the failure is in a negative differential between the two periods or the failure is in a negative nominal return in the positive lunar periods.

Let’s take the Dax trade first: long only during the positive lunar periods. 68% of years made a positive return. 62% of lunar months made a positive return. The total return over 20 years was 149%. The worst run was 4 years of negative returns: from 2001 to 2004. The worst run within any year was 5 consecutive lunar months of negative returns. What these ‘worst run’ stats reveal is that anyone mechanically trading this idea would have had to endure some significant drawdowns that we would ideally like to avoid. So are there any patterns in the failures? Yes, the failures are largely concentrated in the cyclical bear markets (as we might expect). If we were to only trade the Dax positive lunar periods during the cyclical bull markets of the last 20 years, avoiding the cyclical bears, the returns would rise from 149% to 240%. Whilst this is an impressive increase, it involves correctly calling cyclical tops and bottoms and patiently sitting aside the cyclical bears – both easier said than done. Nonetheless, this is supporting evidence for my suggested highest probability trading technique: trading long stock indices during the positive lunar periods during cyclical stocks bull markets.

Let’s turn to the Singapore ‘twin’ trade: long the positive lunar periods and short the negative lunar periods. 74% of years produced a positive differential. 60% of lunar months returned a net positive percentage, going long into and around the new moon and then short the full. The total return over 20 years was 169%. The worst runs were 2 years of negative consecutive returns, and 7 consecutive lunar months. Again, were there any patterns in the failures? Nothing significant that I could draw out. No seasonal patterns, no concentration of note during either cyclical bulls or bears (the Straits suffered an additional bear 1996-1998). Just sometimes the lunar edge differential didn’t work, but most of the time it did. If we were to change this trade to going long only during the positive lunar periods and only during cyclical bull markets – staying the rest of the time out – then the returns would be around 170%, so no notable improvement on a mechanical ‘twin’ trade regardless of bull or bear.

What about shorting the negative lunar periods during cyclical bears, and staying out otherwise? Again, this would involve being able to correctly call the start and end of the bears, but even with that assumption, I found that the returns are less than if we stayed short for the duration of the cyclical bears, rather than staying out during the positive lunar periods.

So returning to my ideas for highest probability trading, what if we look at returns during cyclical stocks bulls but additionally filter on those periods when the geomagnetic trend was up and when stocks were not overfrothy (suffering overbought and overbullish readings). This gets a bit more difficult to draw out retrospectively, but I can do this for the last 4 years. The result is we would have participated in 21 positive lunar periods (effectively just a quarter of the time active in the market, the rest of the time sitting out). 19 of those would have produced a positive return (i.e 90%), producing a 47.1% gain in the 19 winning periods and a 1.5% loss in the two failed periods. Clearly, this is a high winning rate and although patience would be required to sit out of the market three quarters of the time, the technique would be to apply large exposure when these trades arose. The difficulties in applying forward are correctly assessing whether we are in a cyclical bull or bear and identifying changes in the geomagnetism trend and assessing when overbought and overbullish apply. I believe that is all possible, but it is to some degree an art.

To be clear, I am not suggesting sitting out of the markets for entire cyclical bears, making no money. The idealised trade in my terms, the trade of highest probability, may only be available during cyclical bulls under specific circumstances and parameters detailed above and in the last post, however this does not preclude making trades of lower – but still good – probability, and going forward I will continue to look for opportunities at all times. However, this research has confirmed to me that there are specific trades out there that are worth pursuing with significant funding, and I intend to announce them when they arise and record their progress and success on my site.

Specifically, I am looking to capture and draw together lunar oscillation, geomagnetic trends, cyclical bear or bull trends, sentiment and buying/selling extremes, and I aim to take such trades on the German Dax and Singapore Straits for their sensitivity to lunar oscillation, and also on the SP500 for its sensitivity to geomagnetism. There are several permutations of trades within this: a repetitive twin trade on the Straits (alternating being long positive lunar fortnights and short negative lunar fortnights), a long trade on the Dax only during positive lunar periods within a cyclical bull, and a long trade on the SP500 for the duration of a geomagnetic uptrend. So watch this space.

Commodities, Inflation, Sunspots And Geomagnetism

Posted on March 19, 2013March 21, 2013 Posted in Commodities, Indicators, Inflation, Macro, Solar Cycles, Stocks26 Comments

Forecasts for the smoothed solar peak still diverge as we await more a decisive sunspots trend, but the most common forecast remains for Fall/Autumn 2013 (NASA, SIBET, SIDC CM). If that proves accurate, then by history we should expect a peak in inflation and commodities within months of the solar peak. Here is the inflation guide:

I covered commodities in detail here, showing that we might expect commodities as a class (i.e. we should not need to be picky about which commodities – there should be broad participation) to rise into and around the solar peak, with a bias towards peaking after the solar peak, which could therefore be Q4 2013 or Q1 2014 even.

If commodities do fulfill the prediction, then inflation will fall into place, as those inflation peaks marked ‘C’ above were very much resultant from escalating commodities prices. The inflation ought to be ‘growthflation’, rather than a supply-side squeeze only, as this next chart shows:

We should see growth and inflation together, but with the emphasis on inflation, until commodity prices rise too far and help tip the world into recession.

If we draw together stock market history and exclude solar theory, using Russell Napier’s work, then the current cyclical stocks bull should end with rising treasury yields (6% the historic tipping point marker) and rising inflation (to 4% as a historical marker, using the official inflation rate). In other words, it is the same target: growthflation until excessive inflation and tightening. This is an important lesson, because many have prematurely called the end to this cyclical stocks bull when conditions have appeared to be worsening. We should be looking the other way: we need conditions to become growthflationary before the cyclical stocks bull can end, and since 2009 we have only seen short cycles of growth and/or inflation giving way to short cycles of weakness and deflation. The current strength in leading indicators and coincident data looks promising to stick long enough to get the required frothiness into markets and the economy.

As the Fed has explicitly manipulated the treasury market, I suggest we ignore the 6% marker this time, but just look for evidence of persistent upward trending yields to demonstrate that money is exiting that class and pouring into commodities. We have seen yields rise 25% since 2012’s low (and I believe that move is the process beginning), but they could still potentially be in a downtrend, so I want to see them break out of the downward channel and above the 200MA.

Source: Stockcharts

The historic 4% official inflation marker may also need to be dropped in favour of a ‘persistent upward trending in inflation’. This is because official inflation statistics have been doctored over the years so we no longer are comparing like for like. To this end we should see the main commodities in sharply rising trends, then inflation will fall into place. Here is the equally weighted commodities index, the CCI:

What do you see? A secular commodities bull market that ended with a second peak in 2011? Or a secular bull market still in tact that has been consolidating since 2011? Well, we don’t have to wait long to find out the answer because of the triangle shown. Either commodities will break upwards and out, which should then inspire momentum buying, or commodities will break downwards and out, confirming a bear market in place since 2011. Based on solar-secular history, and based on the solar peak likely being ahead, I predict the former: for commodities to break out and become the outperforming class.

An acceleration in commodities should coincide with a loss of momentum in equities. It is normal for a peak in commodities to follow a peak in stocks (sequence per Hurst). Equities should begin a topping process which is an overall sideways range consisting of a swing top, a retreat, and then a marginal new high but on negative divergences (breadth, leading indicators). Whilst this process is taking place, commodities should be rising. See here:

I have highlighted the last two cyclical stock bulls topping processes and the associated lagged peaks in commodities. This should make it clearer why I exited my stock indices longs, because although I predict a marginally higher high ahead for equities, and we do not as yet see divergences in breadth or leading indicators, I suggest we are at the start of this pattern, and the upside remaining for equities is fairly limited.

My forecasts for inflation, commodities and equities are all based on historic norms as I see it. That does not preclude an anomaly occurring. Therefore I continue to assess whether evidence supports my case. The current trends in coincident data, leading indicators and treasury yields are all supportive. However, the missing elements remain a decisive upward break in sunspots, momentum shifting to commodities, and ideally a run against the US dollar. Chris Puplava expects this latter development – that the fear and negativity that has been directed at Europe will shift to the US for a period. Here we see the US dollar index versus gold and the potential for that to occur: the USD retreats now from resistance whilst gold pushes upwards and out of its triangle.

Source: Stockcharts

The opposite scenario is also possible: that the USD breaks upwards and out and gold breaks down. So one relationship to watch. Personally, I am not sure whether a run against the USD will take place. However, as long as the USD range trades and does not find grounds for a bull run upwards, that should be sufficient as a backdrop for a commodities finale (as occurred for the 1980 commodities peak).

Lastly, there was a significant geomagnetic storm at the weekend. Geomagnetism has been unseasonally tame in the last few weeks so such a storm is in fact normal. The result is a shift in the geomagnetic model (all models have been updated this morning) and it is now displaying a potential top:

Based on this, equities may make a swing top here, or at best lose momentum looking out into April. Should this occur, then commodities should begin to outperform.

In summary, I see developments ahead likely mapped out by historic patterns. However, there are various indicators to watch to confirm or invalidate this, namely:

1. Sunspots should break upwards to add weight to a solar peak being ahead rather than behind

2. Commodities should break out – the CCI and gold from their triangles

3. Commodities should start to outperform equities, as equities make a range top

4. Inflation and treasury yields should make upward trends

5. The USD should either range trade or break down

Let’s see!

S O L A R C Y C L E S

Category: Commodities

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Friday Update

More In The Balance

Money Velocity

In The Balance

As Things Stand

The Lunar Edge

Commodities, Inflation, Sunspots And Geomagnetism