Gold Price Forecast: Bull-Bear Tug O’ War Is On

Gold broke below its support line yesterday, but it didn’t do so smoothly, leading both bulls and bears to think they’re right. So, who’s wrong?

The yellow metal finally made its critical move. It broke below its short-term support line and closed the day below it. And that’s clearly bearish.

Let’s jump right into gold’s chart.

The above chart is likely either perplexing, confusing or appearing random for those who haven’t stumbled upon the technical analysis toolkit. But to those who have learned about its principles and have used it themselves, the above chart is very exciting. And to those who took the expertise to the next level and see an even bigger picture, the chart is relatively calm, and normal.

Gold: How Exciting Are Recent Moves?

Why would the above chart be so exciting? Because gold just broke below its rising dashed support line and closed the day below it. This is the first time that it managed to do that, despite coming close to it a few times before. The excitement is even bigger because of what happened on an intraday basis – gold moved back to its declining support line based on the 2020 and 2021 highs and then it moved back up. Consequently, based on the same session, both bulls and bears have an indication that “they were right all along”. Was yesterday’s session a major breakdown, or a confirmation of the May breakout?

But how excited can you get if it’s clear that gold is simply repeating its price patterns from the past that were preceded by relatively similar events (invalidation of breakout to new all-time highs – just like in 2008; similarity with regard to price moves, volume, and key indicators – just like in 2011-2012).

Watching a football match is not as exciting when you already know the outcome, is it?

What’s likely to happen now? Gold is likely to move back and forth, but will ultimately break below the declining support line, which will be a major “uh-oh” moment for those who think that gold will move higher from here based on the very positive fundamental situation. Yes, it is very positive, but it doesn’t mean that gold would rally right away. It could decline despite the fundamentals, just like it did in 2008 and in 2013. And it seems that it’s about to slide.

My previous comments on the analogies to 2008 and 2012 remain up to date:

Back in 2008, gold corrected to 61.8% Fibonacci retracement, but it stopped rallying approximately when the USD Index started to rally, and the general stock market accelerated its decline. 

Taking into consideration that the general stock market has probably just topped, and the USD Index is about to rally, then gold is likely to slide for the final time in the following weeks/months. Both above-mentioned markets support this bearish scenario and so do the self-similar patterns in terms of gold price itself.

Moreover, while the pace of gold’s decline in 2012 started off slow, the momentum picked up later on as the drawdown became even more vicious. As a result, the tepid pace of gold’s current slide remains deceptive and isn’t a cause for concern.

Please see below:

The relatively broad bottom with higher lows is what preceded both final short-term rallies – the current one, and the 2012 one. Their shape as well as the shape of the decline that preceded these broad bottoms is very similar. In both cases, the preceding decline had some back-and-forth trading in its middle, and the final rally picked up pace after breaking above the initial short-term high.

Interestingly, the 2012 rally ended on huge volume, which is exactly what we saw also on May 19 this year. Consequently, forecasting much higher silver or gold prices here doesn’t seem to be justified based on the historical analogies.

The thing I would like to emphasize here is that gold didn’t form the final top at the huge-volume reversal on Sep. 13, 2012. It moved back and forth for a while and moved a bit above that high-volume top, and only then the final top took place (in early October 2012). 

The same happened in September and in October 2008. Gold reversed on huge volume in mid-September, and it was approximately the end of the rally. The final top, however, formed after some back-and-forth trading and a move slightly above the previous high.

Consequently, the fact that gold moved a bit above its own high-volume reversal (May 19, 2021) is not an invalidation of the analogy, but rather its continuation.

There’s one more thing I would like to add, and it’s that back in 2012, gold corrected to approximately the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level – furthermore, the same happened in 2008 as you can see in the below chart. Consequently, the fact that gold moved above its 50% Fibonacci retracement doesn’t break the analogy either. And even if gold moves to $1,940 or so, it will not break it. It’s not likely that it is going to move that high, as in both cases –in 2008 and 2012 – gold moved only somewhat above its high-volume reversal before forming the final top. So, as this year’s huge-volume reversal took place close to the 50% retracement and not the 61.8% retracement, it seems that we’ll likely see a temporary move above it, which will create the final top. And that’s exactly what we see happening so far this week.

The lower part of the above chart shows how the USD Index and the general stock market performed when gold ended its late-2012 rally and was starting its epic decline. In short, that was when the USD Index bottomed, and when the general stock market topped.

Also, please note that while it might seem bullish that gold managed to rally above its declining black resistance line recently (the one based on the 2020 top and the 2021 top), please note that the same happened in 2012 – I marked the analogous line with red. The breakout didn’t prevent gold from sliding. When the price reached the line, we saw a short-term bounce, but nothing more than that – the gold price fell through it in the following weeks.

Summary

To summarize, it seems likely to me that the corrective upswing is over, given gold’s similarity to what happened in 2012 and 2018 and its turnaround at the double triangle-vertex-based reversal point, USD’s similarity to 2016, action in the silver and gold miners, and the situation in the general stock market.

The market is simply not ready to rise without declining significantly first. Bull markets and bear markets move in stages, and even though this time the final slide was postponed multiple times, it’s clear that gold is not ready to soar to new highs.

And as silver often moves in close relation to the yellow metal, forecasting gold’s longer term rally without a bigger decline first is thus likely to be misleading. Silver is likely to slide as well. The times when gold is continuously trading well above the 2011 highs will come, but they are unlikely to be seen without being preceded by a sharp drop first.

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Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA
Founder, Editor-in-chief
Sunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care

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All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

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