Friday, December 9, 2011

Yesterday's bull trap created an impulse leg with immediate downside potential to 1210.00. The pattern is less than compelling but clear enough nonetheless to warrant bottom-fishing via camouflage at 1228.25.  That's the target's midpoint sibling, and it promises to at least blunt the onslaught begun from Thursday morning's fleeting high. Alternatively, on a bullish turn, camouflageurs could try leveraging a pullback from the 1246.75 peak labeled in the chart. _________ UPDATE (9:11 a.m. EST):  The 1228.25 support came within a single tick of nailing the overnight low, so I am establishing a tracking position for your further guidance.  Although a bid at 1228.25 would have just missed, the 'camo' pattern that followed the reversal we'd anticipated was absolute perfection on the 30-minute chart (A=1228.50, B=12432.75, C=1235.75). Entry was signaled at 1239.50, and profits taken on half the position (i.e., two contracts) at the p midpoint, 1243.00. The subsequent thrust to 'D' at 1250.25 fell two ticks shy of being a "winner," and so we hold two contracts with a cost basis of 1236.00. Use a fixed stop-loss at 1235.50 for now, but switch to a 4.00-point trailing stop on the single contract that would remain if 1267.00 is hit.  I am not recommending that you carry the position over the weekend, so if 1267.00 is reached in the final hour, take the money and run. _______ FURTHER UPDATE (11:53 a.m. EST):  The futures have wafted above our "winner" threshold at 1250.25, allowing us to exit a third contract and keep one with a paper profit-adjusted cost basis of 1228.75.  My short-term target is now 1259.25, implying that a too-tight 1.50-point trailing stop would be in effect from the so-far high at  1255.25.  My suggestion is to play it as you please, but to use a "structural" stop at 1246.50 whose

Silver has come cascading down with gold tonight, even if the former is of scant concern to central banks that have trained their heavy artillery on the latter. Our interest in buying the March contract should await a dip to 28.425, a bearish Hidden pivot target noted here earlier. A camouflage entry is advised, since structural supports beneath the pivot are in very short supply. Alternatively, it would take a print today at 34.010 to give it to the bad guys good and hard.

Reputable sources reported that yesterday's mini-crash in gold was orchestrated by sellers that included the U.S. Fed, the BIS and the Bank of England. Under the circumstances, with the central banks doing their sleazy best to temporarily overwhelm sharp rallies in bullion, we can't be too careful initiating trades in gold or in managing position risk once we're aboard. Accordingly, today's Gold tout is accompanied by a chart that shows numerous possibilities and potential camouflage opportunities.  Our objective is to get long, but only at such times as we can pare risk down to a bare minimum, and only when the entry signal meets our criteria precisely. Considering the bullish triangle that has been developing for months on Comex Gold's daily charts, seizing the opportunity is akin to reaching beneath a guillotine to retrieve a 10 carat diamond.

I'll stay closely on top of the lesser charts so that we don't miss an explosive rebound from yesterday's plunge, but my gut feeling -- still -- is that the futures must come down to at least 1633.10-1638.00 to carve out a durable bottom. Regardless, we can get long with impunity and almost at will on any 'camo' opportunity that arises. The one shown in the chart accompanying today's commentary is just such a one, but there are others waiting to be leveraged based on impulsive thrusts exceeding any of the four numbered peaks shown.  If there is a fill thereof overnight that meets our rules for 'camouflage,' I'll establish a tracking position for your further guidance.  As of around 10:09 p.m. EST, the futures were struggling  to complete a minor abcd rally that promised to deliver 1725.90.

This demo was done at the invitation of TradersLog.com and starts with a brief explanation of the Hidden Pivot Method. We then took a close look at some key charts that provide clues concerning how the global financial crisis might play out. Our focus was on long-term charts for T-Bonds, U.S. stocks, the dollar and the euro. The conclusions we drew are somewhat counterintuitive, most particularly a prediction that the euro will not crash when the PIIGs eventually default.

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