Rick Ackerman

Gold turned leaden last week, although it managed to hold its own against the takedown artists.  Buying interest in bullion was nil as the action shifted back to the lunatic stocks. Usually that begets a gratuitous $100 swoon in gold, but DaBoyz evidently couldn't round up the few sellers it would have taken to accomplish this. The result was another week's consolidation at an 1880.49 midpoint pivot associated with a rally target, previously given, at 2082.40 (see inset).  Bulls were on the run at the close, however, so here's a downtrending ABC pattern you can use to judge whether the selling is likely to continue.  It tripped an enticing 'mechanical' short on the bounce to  the green line (1892.70), but I doubt the futures will fall as far as the 1850.20 target.  If they do, you can bottom-fish there with a tight stop-loss, good till 10 a.m. ET Monday. _____ UPDATE (Jun 14, 10:18 a.m. ET): The trade recommended above worked nicely, producing a gain so far of up to $7600 for anyone who got long at 1850.s0 as advised.  Here's the chart.  A stop-loss at 1845.60 or lower would have held the position.  Use a target of 1880.10 for what remains of your position.  That is 'd' of this rabc set-up on the 60-minute chart: a=1871.80 on 6/10 at 9:00 a.m. ET.  _______ UPDATE (Jun 16, 12:25 a.m.): The pullback to x=1854.3 generated a mechanical 'buy', but the trade would have been exited on the run-up to within an inch of p=1862.90. I have nothing more to suggest at the moment. ______ UPDATE (Jun 17, 1:13 a.m.): There was no reason for gold to sell off with stocks on the non-news from the Fed, but the fact that it did anyway suggests DaSleazeballs have more control over it, at

Although gold got slapped around last week, silver was having none of it. The July futures ended the week with a decisive pop above p=28.080 (see inset) and a full day of consolidation. This left bulls with an odds-on shot of reaching the 29.07 target this week. If the July contract pulls back to the green line (27.58) first, that would trigger a 'mechanical' buy, stop 27.08.  However, since the implied entry risk on four contracts would be $10,000, I am recommending this trade only to subscribers able to craft a 'reverse abc' or 'camouflage' to cut that down to $2500 or less theoretical. ______ UPDATE (June 14, 9:24 a.m. ET): If you used a 'reverse abc' entry as suggested, you should be out of half the trade with a realized profit of $500, and two contracts remaining. One should be held for a swing at the fences above d=27.76.  Here's a chart that shows it all. _______ UPDATE (9:40 a.m.): The futures just blew past the D rally target of my rABC pattern, so you should be out of 75% of the position. Current gain is around $2300. ______ UPDATE (9:47 a.m.):  The rally has turned explosive, with a so far high at 28.02 that would equate to a profit of around $3,300.  Here's a snapshot from just minutes ago that is already behind the move. _____ UPDATE (Jun 16, 12:28 a.m.): The sloppy trendlessness of the last five weeks has lost my attention. Things were more interesting when the bad guys were still capable of crushing silver on days when the markets turned moodless. _______ UPDATE (Jun 16, 1:16 a.m.): Silver's plunge on Wednesday was strongly impulsive on the hourly chart, suggesting that the subsequent bounce will prove to have been merely corrective. Let's give it another day before

The Cubes have achieved escape velocity after triggering a textbook 'mechanical' buy in mid-May at the green line (315.29).  Now they looks all but certain to achieve p2=350.90 at a minimum, but buyers will have to impale that pivot to 'guarantee' more upside to D=368.70, a Hidden Pivot resistance that at the moment is no worse than an even bet to be achieved. I am nonetheless tracking a bearish butterfly spread reportedly acquired by a single subscriber: four June 28 280/290/300s. A longshot bet on the unthinkable, he paid an average 0.18 for them. I would advise against trying to buy more, but stay tuned for a possible buy signal on the way up. _____ UPDATE (Jun 24, 8:03 p.m.): The Cubes finally reached the 350.90 rally target I'd said was a shoe-in, but they were unable to hold above it. Let's see what the next day or two brings before we bet the pass line on D=368.70. _______ UPDATE (Jun 26): It took forever, but the Cubes finally achieved the 350.90 rally target I'd all but guaranteed above. No one ever mentions this vehicle in the Trading Room any more, but I'll leave it on the sheets for subscribers who like to butterfly distant strikes. The next one of interest lies at 368.70 (as noted above), but there might be another kind of play if QQQ plummets to p or even x in this updated chart.

IWM, a proxy for small-caps, has become a go-along vehicle, ascending mainly because its handlers are getting a free ride by 'drafting' the Nasdaq 100 and the Cubes.  The chart shown projects modest upside to a 237.72 target.  The rally pattern, although unconventional, is not gnarly enough to go unnoticed, and that's why we shouldn't count toooooo heavily on the stopping power of 'D'. It can serve nonetheless as a lodestone for the next 7-10 days. One subscriber reported filling a put butterfly spread I'd recommended as a longshot bet: eight Jul 16 215/220/225s for 0.28. If you were unable to buy it, cancel your bid.

When the week ended, bulls held a small edge, having turned the the plunge that began the week into a swoon with a nearly $6000 rally. It triggered a 'mechanical' short at the green line (37,179) but because an earlier shorting signal generated on May 23 took fully two weeks to produce a profit, I didn't recommend a second attempt.  Now it's a coin-toss as to whether the rally continues, stopping out a bearish pattern projecting to 26,422, or even to 21,043. However, I'll keep the bar at 45,837 to tell us when it's okay for bitcoin buffs to start getting excited again.  In any event, I'll be looking to short this beast rabc-style following a 1400-point (or so) drop from around 41,737. _______ UPDATE (Jun 16, 1:25 a.m.):  BRTI tripped an rabc short at 40,638, as shown in this chart.  No subscribers reported doing a trade, so I have not established a tracking position. If you did, 75% of it should have been covered by now.

‘Reverse abc’ trades have supplanted ‘mechanical’ set-ups as our workhorse, in part because they attract less attention. A second factor adding to our edge is that we can tailor the a-b interval precisely to our needs, further obscuring the abc character of the pattern. This is what we should always prefer: constructing and using ABC patterns that give us entry triggers and risk-management levels that others do not see, much less exploit. Accordingly, this session focuses almost entirely on rabc entries, with some subtleties to move you up the learning ladder.

August Gold has closed above the red line (1880.40) on all but one day since exceeding it for the first time on May 19. This easy flirtation with a key midpoint resistance suggests that an eventual push to the 2082.40 target is unlikely to be labored.  This is not withstanding last week's $45 dive, about which two things could be said: 1) it was not an $80 swoon, as many of them have been since last August's watershed high; and 2) in true bull-market fashion, the plunge has very nearly been recouped in just a day. The pattern shown should work well for 'mechanical' set-ups and profit-taking, but we shouldn't get our hopes too high that we'll be able to augment long positions with such fire-sale bargains on the way up.

July Silver has been on a buy signal since March 4, when it pulled back to the green line (see inset) after vaulting the 28.62 midpoint resistance with a meter to spare. That made a further push to D=35.02 an odds-on bet, even if it has taken three months to return to the midpoint pivot where partial profits were in order. Now we should want to see the futures close for two consecutive days above  the red line (28.62) before inferring that silver has launched for an ascent toat least p2=31.82.  We'll trade the move using 'reverse abc' patterns and 'camouflage' on the intraday charts, so stay tuned to the Trading Room if you want in.

There was zero chance shorts were not going to get their chains jerked Friday with a feint above the earlier-in-the week high at 4230.00. I said so in the chat room hours before the breakout, but without any great confidence about whether it was bulls or bears who would ultimately get hosed. If it had happened earlier in the session, I would have advised an 'reverse abc' short using this pattern.  However, given the way things played out, we'll have to wait and see what Sunday night brings before we can formulate a new strategy. My gut feeling is that the angsty price action will settle in favor of bulls and that we will be lifting our sights accordingly to p2=4325.50, but there's no point in speculating until the new week begins. _______ UPDATE (Jun 8, 10:30 p.m.): What a shock. The futures spasmed up and down, 20 points at a time, without going anywhere! See my post in the chat room this evening if you want a more interesting story. ______ UPDATE (Jun 10, 8:58 p.m.): Even though the futures have spent a week in limbo, there is no reason to think they won't reach the 4310.75 target of this pattern, and soon.