Gold’s recent sell-off seems to be a continuing pattern of major price movements and directional changes after a significant policy event or any announcement by the Federal Reserve. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was in front of congress again this week and provided no material news or change in policy, but he did leave the door open to more easing if needed. This was enough to cause the sell-off in gold.
From the bottom of the 2008 crises to the middle of 2011, every time he spoke or made a policy announcement, the gold market reacted in a bullish manner. However the Ben speaks = bullish gold trade ended in the middle of 2011. In the summer of last year, speculation was high with regards to additional stimulus and printing, and in typical fashion gold reacted with higher prices. But since the $1920 high in September, gold has reacted negatively and severely sold off every time Ben spoke. Since then, the trade has become Ben speaks = short/sell gold. This trade defies logic, considering Ben surely did deliver on the printing front providing Operation Twist and swap lines to Europe.
Unfortunately, none of this money is stimulating the economy, though it is keeping it on life support.
Consider Wednesday’s price action: there was a spike high based on expectation of QE and then almost a $40 drop from the early morning session after Ben spoke and shared no new information on whether he will provide QE or not. He’s almost leaving it up to the Europeans to figure out their currency and debt mess. If things go wrong, he will be there with a bucket full of paper money to bailout Europe, but until then, the printing press has slowed down. We could see this type of choppy price action all summer long, back and forth, until Ben actually pulls the trigger with more stimulus, something President Obama has been recently suggesting. What caused the stimulus hope early this week was a speech by the President concerning how Americans could use three thousand dollars a year to buy thingamajigs.
Looking at the 24 hour chart for the spot price of gold, we can clearly see it trading between $1615 and touching as high as $1640. Then the hope for a stimulus announcement was killed by Ben, and within a very short period of time, gold broke support at $1615, to test the $1580 price right after his appearance. Today, it continues to trend downwards ever so slowly.
While looking for a major trend change in the gold market, we need to pay attention to important dates when the Federal Reserve meets and planned public announcements by Ben. Being aware of Ben’s scheduled meetings and appearances in front of Congress can also help in trying to identify market turning points.
If you are looking for ideas and strategies for protecting your wealth and trading opportunities in the precious metals sector, please visit our site and sign up for our regular updates and blog posts. We regularly provide technical analysis on the price of gold and the HUI index which can help you identify good entry and exit points for trading.
Cheers
Vin Maru
-- Posted Sunday, 10 June 2012 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
The content on this site is protected
by U.S. and international copyright laws and is the property of GoldSeek.com
and/or the providers of the content under license. By "content" we mean any
information, mode of expression, or other materials and services found on GoldSeek.com.
This includes editorials, news, our writings, graphics, and any and all other
features found on the site. Please contact
us for any further information.
Live GoldSeek Visitor Map | Disclaimer
The views contained here may not represent the views of GoldSeek.com, Gold Seek LLC, its affiliates or advertisers. GoldSeek.com, Gold Seek LLC makes no representation, warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy
or completeness of the information (including news, editorials, prices, statistics,
analyses and the like) provided through its service. Any copying, reproduction
and/or redistribution of any of the documents, data, content or materials contained
on or within this website, without the express written consent of GoldSeek.com, Gold Seek LLC,
is strictly prohibited. In no event shall GoldSeek.com, Gold Seek LLC or its affiliates be
liable to any person for any decision made or action taken in reliance upon
the information provided herein.