The USDX Rocket Is Ready To Take Off: Gold Doesn’t Fit Aboard

Gold and the USD act as if they are swinging on a seesaw. However, the apparent idyll cannot last forever – one of the assets will have to be grounded.

The back-and-forth movement in both gold and miners continues. However, as GDXJ keeps trading below its rising support line, the breakout below it becomes confirmed, and the movements that we saw at the same time in gold and the USD Index suggest that the former is ready to slide once the latter rallies. Let’s take a closer look, starting with the GDXJ.

Yesterday’s move in the ETF was rather insignificant, and that’s precisely what makes it… significant.

What I mean is that insignificant moves after a breakdown are a perfect way for the market to take a breather before declining further. In other words, the previous breakdown makes yesterday’s irrelevant price action relevant and bearish.

Consequently, my yesterday’s comments on the above chart remain up-to-date:

Yesterday’s breakdown below the rising support line was not invalidated.

We saw a move higher on volume that was not strong, which suggests that yesterday’s session was not a true reversal. Low volume suggests that it was a correction, and the fact that junior miners have just broken below their rising support line means that it makes perfect sense for them to correct now.

Consequently, yesterday’s action wasn’t really bullish for junior miners when we take the context into account. Speaking of context, let’s not forget about yesterday’s action in the USD Index.

The USD Index declined significantly yesterday, which means that gold, silver, and mining stocks “should have” rallied. After all, based on the USD’s decline, their prices (quoted in USD terms) became lower for non-USD buyers. So, the fact that silver and gold were practically flat yesterday is actually bearish for them, because it means they underperformed. Gold miners moved higher, but given that the USD Index declined visibly and the general stock market rallied, it would be natural for miners to rally more than they did. Taking all this into account, miners were not really strong yesterday.

If we focus on the USD Index alone, we’ll see that yesterday’s decline was absolutely inconsequential with regard to changing the outlook for the USDX. It simply continues to consolidate after a breakout above the mid-2020 highs. Breakout + consolidation = increasing chances of rallies’ continuation. A big wave up in the USD Index is likely just around the corner, and the precious metal sector is likely to decline when it materializes.

As the war-based premiums in gold and the USD appear to be waning, a high-interest-rate-driven rally in the USD is likely to trigger declines in gold. The correlation between these two assets has started to decline. When that happened during the last two cases (marked with orange), gold plummeted profoundly shortly thereafter.

What happened after we posted the above?

The USD Index had declined, and gold had rallied (yesterday), and then (today) the USD Index moved back up by just a little while gold declined strongly.

Gold is once again in a situation where it magnifies the USD’s bearish indications while largely ignoring the USD’s bullish indications.

This is a perfectly bearish sign for the short term, because it means that if the USD Index moves back and forth, then gold will most likely continue its downtrend, declining when the USD is up, and pausing when it’s down.

However, the USD Index is not likely to continue to move back and forth for long – quite the opposite. The USD Index has just verified its breakout above the mid-2020 high for the third time (without moving below it; the strong support held!), which means that it’s now very likely that it will simply continue its uptrend.

Based on how gold is now reacting to USDX’s movement, the uptrend in the USD Index would be likely to trigger significant declines in gold. This would be likely to translate into lower silver and mining stock prices.

All in all, technicals favor a decline in the precious metals sector sooner rather than later.

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Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA
Founder, Editor-in-chief
Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & 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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