Weekend Report - Chaos: Gold, The Dollar And Hillary

 | Oct 31, 2016 11:13

Originally published by Chamber of Merchants

What a dramatic title for this report , ” Chaos “.

But chaos is only chaos from the perspective of those who were unprepared. If you expect it, it’s called Volatility.

Imagine a market without volatility: there would be no swings in price, no opportunity for profit, simply because everyone would agree on all prices at all times. Additionally, a market without volatility implies that everyone has access to the same information. That means we all base all our investments on the same conclusions. A market that has no volatility implies that no one is really making any profit in the short run. In the same breath, no one is incurring a loss in the short run.

It may seem like this sometimes when we read reports of the market making higher highs, and everyone is on the same train going in the same direction: up.

This is not reality. A Merchant looks deeper into the global stage and focuses on the horizon.

“There where fleeting silhouettes appear,

Where hearts are lured and caused to endear,

Where dust blows across as fortunes are made,

The whispers linger of songs once obeyed,

In the mists of doubt, darkness and fear,

Where lights are dim and danger is near,

On the horizon we peer deeper into the depth,

Looking past days that others forget,

Where chaos destroys and creates in the shadows,

Where children don’t tread in fear of unknown meadows,

Ever closer the Merchant wanders,

To reap what is sown in the horizon of wonders.”

h2 Summary/h2

Friday marked a date of strange events that threw the markets into different directions.

The last hour of ASX trading looked bleak for almost all sectors. The stock market was down, seeing huge volumes of funds being withdrawn. The miners in my portfolio, in small volumes, were being sold lower and lower.

Then, out of the blue, the last 30 minutes gave way to a sudden and strong buy in the ASX All Ordinaries Gold.

ASX All Ordinaries Gold

That’s odd. Right?

Continuing through the day we saw uncertainty in the markets and then the USA economic indicators were revealed.

We had the amazing, the stellar, the awe inspiring GDP from the USA. 2.9% against the expected 2.5% and better than last quarter’s 1.4%. (keep in mind this will definitely be revised down in the next quarter as its based on a set of convenient assumptions for which the actual figures are not yet available).

This sent the Dollar …almost nowhere while immediately Gold plunged from $1269 to $1265, $1263…$1263…$1263…$1263.

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The most unnatural price action I’ve seen in a long time.

The Gold price should have at least dropped down to $1250 or lower, given the increased probability of a rate hike.

Yet, there were large, open hands that grabbed up every short sell, every stop loss, every panic sale possible and $1263 remained unbroken. In fact, shortly afterwards gold shot up to $1274 as short sellers depleted and closed their positions. It could be that with the market taking the Fed more seriously on the rate hike bet, that the stock crashes of January are coming back to memory, making the leap for gold all the easier. (I think Gold’s strength was planned a long time ago. It’s not a reaction or response. Banks made a heck of a lot of money just 10 years ago. I think they’re ready for seconds.)

In fact, Gold hit $1283.65 last night. It’s not in the Chamber of Merchants video because… I fell at asleep at the screen.

Yes, Patrons: Merchants, amazingly, also need sleep. I’m human, just like you. After a long day and dedicating my late night hours to your insight and education, I drifted into slumber at the keyboard and awoke to this: Gold had reached $1283: