April

I don't usually overlay a second pattern on a chart, but in this case my intention was to show how the May futures can be bought at 79.81 for a shot at D=88.69. This is a reverse-pattern set-up, and it can be done with a limit bid and a tight stop-loss, but also with a 'camouflage' trigger on a lesser chart that would limit risk even more.  Use extra caution, since it wouldn't take much drama Sunday night to open the futures below d=79.81 of the rABC pattern. If tat happens, a larger reverse-pattern a-b will be in play: a= 78.80 on 1/29/24. It yields a 'd' target at 75.90 that would be the maximum correction from the recent high at 83.18. The target coincides with a voodoo number, so it would be a back-up-the-truck opportunity to get long. The large pattern would be confirmed and corroborated by a bounce precisely from 79.54, the midpoint HP support. Do not share this information with anyone, since that could queer the ABCD/abcd patterns' hidden power over the futures.

The bullish pattern shown is somewhat gnarly, but there's nothing fancy about it, and there is no reason to think the 2306.20 target, which first appeared here a while ago, will not be reached. It should be held in mind as a minimum upside projection for the near term. A mechanical buy now at the red line is problematical, however, since the uptrend failed to touch p2 before it pulled back to the line. I doubt the correction will continue all the way down to the green line (x=2073.90), but that would  certainly present an appealing 'mechanical' buying opportunity.

I've made a finicky adjustment to the point A low that yields a slightly lower rally target at 2269.10. Months of tedium at p do not allow certitude about whether D will be reached, nor does the stall precisely at p2=2167; however, my gut feeling is that 2269.10 will work as a minimum upside target. If April Gold gets no lift from last week's soporific string of lows near 2159.40, the next place you could step in to buy with a tight stop-loss would be at 2116.00. That's the 'd' target of a small reverse pattern on the daily chart. _______ UPDATE (Mar 21, 9:26 a.m.): The futures should be presumed bound for the 2306.20 target shown in this chart once they push decisively past the 2269.10 Hidden Pivot resistance noted above. 

For all its wacky histrionics, crude remains one of the most tradeable vehicles tracked on this list. The pattern shown, with an 82.48 rally target we've been using as a lodestar, produced a second 'mechanical' buy at x=77.26 last week that went on to rack up significant gains without much fuss or stress.  Paradoxically, most of the trades come from thrusts into 'discomfort' zones that are so predictable that they should be called 'relaxation' zones. I will continue to provide real-time guidance for this vehicle that is commensurate with the interest subscribers show in the chat room. ______ UPDATE (Mar 18, 10:24 a.m.): I am raising my target to 83.26, since buyers are not having much difficulty surpassing rally targets of lesser degree. The pattern's point 'B' high is more sausage-y than I would prefer, but I'll use it anyway because the pattern itself looks gnarly enough to evade widespread detection and use. The target will be shortable when reached, but your trading bias should be bullish until then. If you were looking for yet one more negative factor to slow down the psychotic bull market rampage, crude's effortless waft above $80 barrel could be it, since it threatens to raise the price of everything tied to energy prices -- i.e., virtually all goods and services sold on this troubled planet. _______ UPDATE (4:03 p.m.):  The rally from the Feb 5 low has gone out of control, killing my enthusiasm for getting short. It looks to be headed for 86.15; however, even on the five-minute chart, there was just one dicey chance to get long today using an rABC trigger. ______ UPDATE (Mar 20, 5:33 p.m.): See my 12:45 post in the chat room for an equivalent target for the May contract, plus actionable guidance. 

Although I promoted a 2307 target here last week, I'm going to dial it back a little with the 2276.60 target of a larger pattern. For reasons of clarity alone, it should take precedence over the higher number, and therefore be viewed as a potential rally-stopper. In any case, resistances at both p and p2 were violated so brutally that there should be little doubt about using 2276.60 as a minimum upside projection. The rally was too steep even when it began early last week to catch an easy ride. The same conditions will likely obtain this week, so any attempt to get aboard would need to come from an intraday set-up on the lesser charts.

Crude's tortuous rally since mid-December projects to 82.46, based on the ABCD pattern shown. It is good enough for government work, but as you can see, the point 'B' high failed to push above late January's 79.09 high. This 'sausage-y' formation has been remedied by using a one-off 'A' low, although the result is a pattern that falls short of ideal. What makes it usable and even trustworthy is the pullback to the green line precisely from the midpoint Hidden Pivot (p=78.99). Now, a pullback to the red line can be bought 'mechanically' with a stop loss at 77.83. _______ UPDATE (Mar 9): Although the 82.46 rally target remains viable, the pattern's C-D leg has grown too tired to offer a good opportunity for bottom-fishing with a 'mechanical' bid at the green line. 

Friday's surge will face a test of resistance at 2106.80, the 'd' target of the reverse pattern shown. If the futures go just a little higher, exceeding the 'external' peak at 2118.00 recorded on December 28, that would generate a strong impulse leg and open up a path to as high as 2204.00.  The 'p' resistance associated with that target lies at 2105.80, meaning there are multiple 'hidden' impediments nearby that are going to put bulls' mettle to the test. A clean blast through all of these HPs will signal the tone change we've awaited since December. _______ UPDATE (Feb 5, 10:32 a.m.): As implied above, yesterday's blast through a tight cluster of 'hidden' resistances has put the futures on course for a run-up to at least 2204.00.  Here's another target, never broached here before: 2307.00.  It is derived from A=1861.70 on 10/6, and tied to p=2151.70, where a stall could occur. ______ UPDATE (Feb 5, 6:20 p.m.): The steep rally begun last Friday did in fact stall almost precisely at the 2150.70 Hidden Pivot identified in my last update. The pullback has been shallow so far, with no impact on the likelihood of D being reached.  ______ UPDATE (Mar 6, 5:20 p.m.): The little poke through p=2151.70 may not look like much, but it is quite bullish for two reasons: 1) at that price, there is double resistance from two p midpoints of different degree; and, 2) the futures have closed above the resistance on the first bar in which they encountered the resistance. If the futures close above 2151.70 for a second consecutive day, that would shorten the odds of a further run-up to 2307.00 to no worse than an even bet. 

Crude is the most agitated trading vehicle I track, but paradoxically the easiest to trade. We can practically count on every tradable price reversal to come from within a tick or two of an in-your-face-obvious prior high or low -- i.e., from smack-dab-in-the-middle of a 'discomfort zone'. The pattern shown has a rally target at 80.30, and we know from experience that the political powers that be and their lackeys will be there to impede the uptrend, lest gasoline prices become problematical for voters nine months ahead of the election. The pattern is also an inch from triggering a textbook 'mechanical' buy at the green line. Watch it develop if you are bored. _______ UPDATE (Feb 23): The green line (x=76.71) could have been used to make as much as $2,200 per contract with little difficulty, since the futures made a nearly two-level move after dipping slightly below the line on Wednesday morning. A subscriber reported having used UCO to do the trade. Here's the chart. The 80.30 target given above remains valid.

The pattern shown, with a 2056.30 rally target, is not particularly bullish, but it looks serviceable for trading. A presumably corrective rally stalled Friday at 2026.40, the midpoint resistance, but any headway above it when the new week begins would imply the target is likely to be reached.  A 'mechanical' buy at the green line looks promising, but I'd suggest that you act only if the pullback has come from above p=2026.40, especially if it is exceeded decisively. _______ UPDATE (Feb 23): Last week's modest rally fell a few dollars shy of the 2056.30 target flagged above, but you can expect it to be reached within the next couple of days. It is shortable via a tight 'reverse pattern' for subscribers who are familiar with this tactic. The pattern can also be used for 'mechanical' buying at either p or x if the futures favor us with a swoon,