http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-bu.../gold-bugs-stand-fast-despite-metals-pullback
Gold took a $40-plus beating on Friday, but the gold bugs (not for the first time) are dug in and determined.
The trigger for Friday's fall, of course, was the big U.S. dollar surge following unexpectedly good (or, at least, not absolutely awful) employment data.
But the gold sell-off was broad. Kitco's Gold Index indicates that (by their reckoning) only $14.90 of gold's $46.10 decline was caused by the dollar rise.
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The effect of this was to turn down The Privateer's famous Long Term US$ 5X3 Point-and-Figure Gold Chart, after the biggest up-spike in its 25-year history.
Gold will have to rise almost $25 from Friday's late price to turn this widely followed technical indicator up again. (The Privateer, it should be noted, thinks that will happen, eventually.)
But a $25 move in gold is not what it once was. This point was well made Friday morning in The Gartman Letter: "A 2% change with gold at $1,200 is a great good deal larger than is a 2% change in price at $600/ounce. It is that simple. Corrections intraday can easily be $25-$30/ounce, and mean absolutely nothing except to take late, under-capitalized traders out."
Gartman, writing very early while gold was still above $1,200, also said: "We'd not be surprised to see it trade down ... by a dollar or two or three late today. At that point, we'll be a buyer for those who've remained out of the market thus far. It is a bull market, and in bull markets one buys weakness when weakness avails itself."
Gold bugs aren't too fond of Gartman, who in the past has regularly rubbished their pet theories and whom they claim is close to key market players. They will be watching closely to see if this influential commentator follows through.
The gold bugs themselves are standing firm. And they can claim they saw it coming. Presciently, James Turk's last posting on his FGMR.com Web site in late November observed: "I still think $1,200-$1,400 is a reasonable target for the end of this year. ... But first, it seems likely that gold will re-test support. ... So I expect gold to trade under $1,150 sometime this week. If we do see a drop into the $1,140s, it will be an ideal opportunity for traders to add to their position."
Chartist Martin Pring of Pring.com said: "The [gold] shares have just moved to their old high, and this might be as good a time as any for expecting a correction to develop. However, unless ... $1,000 [gold] ... is violated, a bullish overall stance is appropriate."
Which brings me to the group of what I call "radical gold bugs," who comment on Bill Murphy's LeMetropoleCafe.
One Cafe writer points out that silver, which usually accentuates a gold move, was notably less damaged on Friday, causing gold to become cheaper in terms of silver: "I cannot recall ... [a] sustained period where the falling ratio of gold-silver has occurred in conjunction with a fall in the price of the metal."
Another points out that the gold shares sharply cut their losses on Friday afternoon, despite gold itself going significantly lower: "The last example of this was similar performance last October 30th (also a Friday) marking the end of the late October weakness precisely: A week later gold was $50 higher."
Le Metropole Cafe also looks to India. Curiously, it's the only letter I know of that regularly monitors off-take by India, by far the world's largest gold consumer.
Cafe wrote recently: "As noted on Friday, India was a buyer that morning with world gold at $1,203. ... India's importers are likely to be forced by their customers into the market on Monday."
Hence, no doubt, editor Murphy's characteristically pugnacious Friday evening headline: "Opportunity Time."
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