Saturday, May 18, 2013

My Challenge To “Whistleblower” Andrew Maguire

Readers of my blog have known for quite some time now that I grew increasingly agitated with the charlatans pumping the gold and silver price suppression memes over two years ago and have been quite vocal about it on many occasions.  I want to be clear about this point before I continue.  My beef isn’t with people who buy gold and silver or who feel that a portion of their portfolio should be devoted to gold or silver ownership.  My beef isn’t with people that make well thought out arguments for holding gold and silver either.

My beef is with the many that I have repeatedly called for providing misleading and incorrect information to unsuspecting investors looking for information on the relative merits of owning these metals. Their influence on spreading incorrect, fear-ridden, greed-driven and flat out WRONG information has spread so far that you would be hard pressed to run a Google search on the topic of gold and silver ownership without being met with page after page of conspiracy theories, most of which are just cut and pasted from one site that usually starts the story while the others fall in line and are more than happy to propagate whatever the story of the day might be.

I have often called the usual suspects out on my blog to, not surprisingly,  be met with dozens of hate e-mails and venomous comments.  Funny thing though, not once when I question these guys about their data or information does anyone bother to correct me.  Instead they simply regurgitate the meme and continue to propagate the myth.  The logic in this circle has always been if you repeat something enough, people will accept it as truth but the fact it is copied, pasted and shared among the gold and silver bug community doesn’t make it true.

One of my targets has been alleged “whistleblower” Andrew Maguire.  Anyone who has been following the precious metals over the last 3 years knows who he is by now.  For that haven’t heard about him, he’s the guy who was the alleged “whistleblower” that the folks over at GATA (Gold Anti Trust Action Committee) trumpeted out as their ace in the hole.  He was supposed to blow the entire lid off the alleged scam behind the precious metals price suppression.

An active contributor to the comments section of my own blog, and a blogger himself, Bullion Baron from the blog space www.bullionbaron.com  wrote a piece about Andrew Maguire recently questioning the facts behind Maguire’s most recent allegations that Maguire made on King World News.  I won’t get into it here but that piece worth reading discusses the inconsistencies in Maguire’s information that he often spews at King World News in response to Eric King’s leading questions. (Bullion Baron’s piece can be read here).

I’ve questioned Maguire’s “off” statements in the past before as well.  In fact, I’ve often called him a charlatan who is living off his ego after he was appointed “whistleblower” despite the fact that the US Department of Justice called his evidence unreliable when they dismissed any price fixing claims against JP Morgan and HSBC

The courts did not name the whistleblower by name but made the following findings. It can be inferred that given that Maguire has been the only alleged whistleblower to have actually come forward, and given the court’s summation of the material that this individual was indeed Maguire. Why? Because the evidence summarized in the ruling is what Maguire indicated had taken place. In other words, what was presented at the hearing was pretty much what Maguire claimed had been going on when he decided to come out as “the whistleblower”. I mean let’s be real and use common sense. He’s the only alleged whistleblower to have come out with the allegations summarized in the court’s decision reads in part; (Emphasis is mine)

3. Allegations of Additional Uneconomic Trades

In addition to the manipulative trades made on June 26, 2007 and on August 14-15, 2008,the Complaint alleges that JPMorgan used its dominant COMEX short position to bring about trades that were “inconsistent with trying to obtain the best sales price execution, but consistent with trying to move prices down by aggressively selling in a compressed period to receive less on the sales transactions.” (Id. ¶ 121; see also id. ¶¶ 5-6, 96-109.) In support of this allegation, the Complaint discusses instances of unexpected “heavy selling” which occurred between April 2009 and August 2010. (Id. ¶¶ 121-23.) These instances were allegedly brought to the attention of the CFTC Commissioner by an unidentified “market professional . . . registered with the National Futures Association,” who was “a long time participant in the COMEX silver futures markets.” (Id. ¶ 122.) An unnamed “whistleblower”5 also allegedly contacted the CFTC on February 3, 2010 to report that JPMorgan would be making an unidentified “signal . . . indicating its intent to depress COMEX silver futures and options contracts two days later.” (Id. ¶ 125.) On February 5, 2010, this whistleblower contacted the CFTC “to confirm that the silver manipulation was a great success and [had] played out EXACTLY as predicted.” (Id. ¶ 126.)

Footnote: 5 It is unclear from the Complaint if the unnamed “market professional” registered with the National Futures Association is the unnamed “whistleblower.”

Moreover, the statements made by the unidentified “market professional,” (Compl. ¶¶ 121-23), by the unnamed “whistleblower,” (id. ¶¶ 125-26), and by the “bragging” JPMorgan traders, (id. ¶ 176), are not sufficiently factual to show that JPMorgan was the proximate cause of the price fluctuations during the Class Period. The unidentified market professional, for example, is alleged to have brought a series of trades to the attention of the CFTC, but the market professional is not alleged to have named JPMorgan as a party to these trades. (See id.¶ 122.) Indeed every one of the market professional’s statements are made in the passive voice alleging that, “there was heavy selling of silver and gold;”“[t]here were large sellers who came into both the gold and silver markets to drive the prices down;” and so on. (Id.)

By comparison, the unnamed whistleblower who contacted the CFTC in November 2009 does specifically name JPMorgan, but only to assert conclusory and speculative allegations that JPMorgan and its co-conspirators “manipulate[d] and suppress[ed] the price of COMEX silver futures and options contracts.” (Id. ¶ 123; see also id. ¶¶ 124-127.) The Complaint alleges no other information about this whistleblower or about the details of the manipulation that the whistleblower is purported to have observed. Indeed, the whistleblower’s statement is itself speculative as to JPMorgan’s role in the causation: “[h]ow would th[e price fluctuations] be possible if the silver market was not in the control of [JPMorgan and its co-conspirators] . . . . ?”(Id. ¶ 127 (alterations made in Complaint).)

For the reasons discussed supra, the statements by the “bragging” JPMorgan traders are also insufficient to support the allegation that JPMorgan caused artificial prices in the COMEX silver futures market. (See Op. & Order Section V.A.3(b).) The Complaint alleges no information about the date or the language of the remarks deemed to be “bragging;” the identity of the traders who made these remarks; which of the many trades that took place over the two and-a-half year Class Period were the subject of the traders’ bragging; and no information about whether the traders were acting at the instigation of JPMorgan to move silver prices on the market. Cf. Harris, 572 F.3d at 72 (stating that “legal conclusions, and threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements” are not entitled to presumption of truth).

You can see that even the courts found the “whistleblower” and his evidence to be unreliable.  I am inferring that the whistleblower referred to is indeed Maguire. In a nutshell, thie so-called whistleblower couldn’t name the traders, couldn’t attach them to JPMorgan and couldn’t verify their claims. Read the paragraph’s above .. I think the message about the validity of the inside scoops can be ascertained.

Long before this decision however, I wrote a piece questioning exactly who this guy (Maguire) was and why it was so difficult for him to come clean about his past.  That blog piece was picked up by other blogs and websites via link sharing but in combing through the many comments to my own piece and on the websites that decided to pick it up, NOT ONE individual was able to provide any answers to my questions.  I also wrote another piece titled Silver Whistleblower Goes Tout. That piece also got a ton of comments but again, nobody was able to steer me to a legitimate curriculum vitae that actually proves who this guy is or whether his claims of being who he is are actually true.

Given the amount of faith that the gold and silver perma-bulls have placed in Maguire’s commentary, we need to keep pressing for his real background. If he is given a platform to speak on behalf of the few who are privy to the the price-fixing community then I think it’s fair that he comes clean, especially since silver is down over 50% from the highs and from when he emerged on the scene claiming that forthcoming events would force the price of gold and silver to explode. Many people bought based on these outrageous claims. Many unfortunate people are left holding the bag.

A satirical post about Andrew Maguire being a Federal Reserve Plant sought  to turn the table on Maguire, showing through satire how easy it is to label someone a ‘bankster shill’.  Quite easily one can make the argument, as that piece did,  that we can come to the same conclusion about Maguire that he comes to about the bullion banks.  However my concern runs deeper than that.

As I discussed in my post about Maguire turning trading tout,  I wrote that Andrew Maguire turned shill when he decided to run a trading service touting his trades for sale. You will also start to notice that this service is also being touted now in many of Maguire’s interviews at King World News, enticing signups of course. (One of the arguments I’ve had about the perma-bulls is that the ALL seem to have something to sell you). Don’t believe me? Read the big promo add about how much money he’s made for his clients in his latest interview with Eric King at King World News HERE. Those are some returns and given the climate of the metals market of late, he has had to be telling his client’s to go short while at the same time promoting the coming rise in metals prices to the readers of that site (just like every other guest of Eric King by the way).

The fact that Andrew Maguire's "trading service" is openly promoted now in all his interviews and the fact that he has apparently ramped up his attack on the bullion banks with incorrect information as highlighted by Bullion Barron, deserves to be written about if for no other reason than to protect the unsuspecting public who has already been duped buy this guy’s false and misleading information. 

The reality is .. How can someone be labeled a whistleblower if we don’t actually know who he worked for, when he worked there and what actual inside information he was privy to?  Let me put it to you this way.  If I’m a day trader working from my home and I happen to go out for a coffee at a bar where big bank traders hang out and overhear them talking about how they took a penny stock to $20.00 from $1.00 based on nothing and then shorted the stock at the top into retail momentum I might get a chuckle. If I was caught into that momentum trade and heard that these SOB’s just conned me, I would be pissed. But, would that make me a whistleblower if I started to speak about it?  No. It makes me a party to hearsay. There is a big difference.

Now, if Maguire got caught up in buying all the rubbish out there from GATA and the other dozen or so that propagate their memes then happen to take a beating on a long silver trade after a market correction I might be tempted to blow the whistle on what I heard in a bar when two bullion traders were celebrating a big win on a short trade.  Could this actually be what Maguire’s story really is?  Is he just a pissed-off trader who took a huge loss only to come to GATA with information that consisted of second hand information that he overheard in a bar?   A true whistle-blower is someone who took part in the conspiracy and then decided to come clean. That’s the difference and that is something that Andrew Maguire did not do.

Here's a guy who is heralded as being an independent bullion trader of over 30 years having worked for the infamous Goldman Sachs!  Here’s his limited bio from his trading service website.

Meet the expert
Andrew Maguire – Precious Metals
Andrew is an accomplished veteran of the markets. He has 30 years trading experience, both as an institutional and independent trader, the last 19 years of which have been as a metals specialist. Andrew is the driving force behind the MetalsTrades services for Coghlan Capital.

YET...... Nobody can verify this guy's actual background AND, more importantly based on my own investigations, probably doesn’t even hold a licence to provide financial advice. He is certainly no licenced broker as evidenced by the myriad of disclaimers attached to his trading service. I mean, anyone who actually reads the disclaimer can draw this inference on their own.

I apologize for printing the entire disclaimer but I do so to emphasize my point:

Risk Disclaimer: (all emphasis is mine)
"Coghlan Capital is not a registered investment advisor or advisory service. It does not tell or suggest which securities or currencies should be bought or sold. The analysts and employees or affiliates of Coghlan Capital may hold positions in the stocks, currencies or industries discussed here. There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading stocks, futures and forex. Coghlan Capital assumes no responsibility or liability for any trading or investment results. Facts, statement and charts posted to the company website (www.coghlancapital.com) may unintentionally include inaccuracies. All content posted is for educational purposes ONLY and independent advice should be sought from a professional to confirm validity and accuracy of any claim made. Such set-ups are not solicitations of any order to buy or sell.

Rather, you should use the Information only as a starting point for doing additional independent research in order to allow you to form your own opinion regarding trading decisions. You should ask the firm with which you deal about the terms and conditions of the specific futures or options which you are trading and associated obligations (e.g., the circumstances under which you may become obligated to make or take delivery of the underlying interest of a futures contract and, in respect of options, expiration dates and restrictions on the time for exercise). Under certain circumstances the specifications of outstanding contracts (including the exercise price of an option) may be modified by the exchange or clearing house to reflect changes in the underlying interest. You should always check with your licensed financial advisor and tax advisor to determine the suitability of any investment.

No assumption should be made in relation to the performance or accuracy of the methods shown. No claims are made as to the success or profitability of any posts made within the company website.

DayTrades

The MetalsTrades and DayTrades services provide insight as to trades that traders affiliated with Coghlan Capital may be taking. These trades are published for educational purposes only and should NOT be taken as instructions to buy or sell any commodity, option or currency. THESE SERVICES ARE INSTRUCTIONAL ONLY AND DESIGNED TO FAMILIARIZE MEMBERS WITH HOW AND WHEN TRADES ARE TAKEN BY A PROFESSIONAL TRADER.

All Trading involves risk. Leveraged trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. Be aware and accept this risk before trading. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose. All forecasting is based on statistics derived from past performance of any trading methodology is no guarantee of future results. No “Safe” trading system has ever been divided and no one can guarantee profits or freedom from loss.

Before you make any investment or trading decisions, you should carefully inform yourself about the opportunities and risk. Apart from the financial aspects, this might also include the fiscal and legal ones. Please particularly note that the past performance of a trading system or trading strategy is not indicative of future results. See also CFTC RULE 4.41

U.S. Government Required Disclaimer – Commodity Futures Trading Commission Futures and Options trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose. This is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this web site. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.

HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.

YET, this guy is touted as a professional trader of over 30 years and promotes a "trading service" where he provides what appear to be, by virtue of the disclaimer “hypothetical trades” with “hypothetical” results. You can see how I come to the reasonable conclusion that he doesn't even have a licence that allows him to legally provide that financial advice ... yet HE CHARGES A FEE for pretend trades and treats it like a video game to skirt the law. It really makes my blood boil.

Again, I apologize for continuing to beat a dead horse here but this stuff is just so blatant and wreaks of lies and deception that I must speak out to protect the little guy who has taken a huge beating in the gold and silver market because they bought into the deceptive practices touted by Maguire and those like him.  It disturbs me to no end that this guy gets away with this stuff yet nobody other than Jeff Christianson (who actually worked for Goldman Sachs and whose video appears in my post linked above) has had the balls to call him out on it.

This isn’t about where the price of silver or gold for that matter is headed. It has nothing to do with fundamentals or technical analysis.  This is about trying to get answers for the people that have held their physical metal during a vicious correction because of the information that Maguire and guys like him tout. It’s for the guy who bought silver at $45.00 – $50.00 an ounce or gold at over $1900 an ounce and is sitting on massive losses because they believed what was told to them by the likes of Andrew Maguire and perpetuated by those that propagate his conspiracy theories. 

Therefore I issue this challenge to Andrew Maguire.. .POST PROOF OF YOUR BACKGROUND, a Curriculum Vitae with contactable referencesVerify your background is as claimed and prove you are who GATA have made you out to be and I will  promise to never write another word about you again.  In fact, I will even provide you with a free banner advertisement spot on my blog for your “trading service” for a full year.

If Andrew Maguire wants to keep his title of whistleblower despite the fact that his evidence has already been deemed unreliable by the courts, then he should have no problem accepting this challenge. All he has to do is PROVE that he really had INSIDER direct knowledge of price fixing schemes and isn’t just a jealous or disgruntled day trader who overheard a couple of real bullion bank traders boast about a massive winning trade in the local pub, one that he was probably on the other side of. 

My challenge can’t be clearer. Tell the world exactly how you are an insider that blew the whistle off the so-called price-suppression schemes and keep in mind that the courts already dismissed your evidence because you didn’t name traders, couldn’t tie them to the bullion bank you alleged they were from and you couldn’t even recall WHEN you heard them bragging.

Tell the people what your real connection is to the bullion banks you claim to know so much about.  Otherwise, please stop please stop misleading investors and individuals by continuing to allow yourself to be labelled a whistleblower because based on what we know and what the courts have already ruled, nothing can be further from the truth when it comes to that ‘title’. 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

UPDATING THE WEAKEST OF THE METALS–SILVER

I wanted to follow up on my updated silver chart yesterday because some might say that silver had an outstanding reversal yesterday which confirms a higher price move is imminent.  I think that frame of mind is pre-mature and while silver may spike up, it may also wash out again to the downside given that it is STILL in a bearish pattern.

There are a couple of points I want to highlight.  First, while yesterday’s price action was good, (silver was down hard overnight and rallied intraday to close at the highs) but where the price stalled is important because it implies that further price declines are not out of the picture and silver, the weakest acting metal so far, is not out of the woods by a long shot.  I wanted to zoom in on yesterday’s chart which shows that while yesterday's price move was good in that it saved silver from collapsing further, it did not break the current bearish pattern.  Was yesterday’s high a bull trap?  Was yesterday’s action a bear trap?  These are points we need to consider along with the fact that today gold is having a great day along with platinum and the miners are doing well (GDX and HUI) but silver is barely moving and in fact was down intraday while all the aforementioned were up considerably. I would have expected silver to follow suit but as I write this it hasn’t so we must take this into consideration.

I do believe that we are literally a couple days from resolution here.  The green arrow on the chart indicates the potential upside thrust and the red arrow shows the potential downside move.  I still favor bearish resolution but we must be ready for the bullish case.  If yesterday’s rally was a “bull trap” then we could be in for a quick move down perhaps starting in the overnight session.  I would have expected silver to act better today in the face of the aforementioned indicators. This is why I cannot rule out bearish resolution to this bounce off the crash lows.

I would rather have a re-test of the lows and a pierce through it instead of a V correction.  This is because if we do get a crash through the lows of last month and then silver starts to move back up I would more confident in going long for what I perceive could be a good move back up.  The lower highs and lower lows coupled with the action noted in the chart is what leaves me leaning to silver having to resolve lower before we can safely call an end to the correction.

May 8th Silver

There is also another scenario that calls for the potential end to this corrective rally since the crash lows. Note that while also forming a bearish flag and another pennant, we also have another Head and Shoulder Pattern developing.  While less reliable than a H&S pattern at the TOP of  a major longer term rise, the last H&S pattern we identified here before the major drop turned out to confirm.  The following chart shows the formation of this latest topping pattern.

hs silver

So, we have a bearish flag, pennant and head and shoulders topping pattern from the April 15th lows. Three bearish patterns that are very close to confirming in silver. 

We are at the apex of a significant move down or another thrust up.  I think I’ve already made my point about favoring the bearish resolution, I would not be afraid to go long if the signals tell me to.

Trade smart and stay alert.  This week should see some resolution.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Updating Silver

I meant to provide an update on silver yesterday and if you check my tweets, it was my top of the list.  However, we got back in late from my son’s soccer training and I got occupied with helping my other son with a school assignment. In any event, I’ve updated my chart.

Note two items,

Since silver failed to confirm the first pennant, it did top at the 50% FIB and then fell back to where the 38.2% FIB acted as overhead resistance while building another pennant within the clearly defined bear flag.  Should silver fall below my break line of between 23.35-$23.40, we could see another rapid decline of 19-20% equalling the decline of the first collapse. Trade accordingly. I remain bearish.

Silver May Contract

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Are Gold Miners Ready To Re-Open Hedge Books?

In 2009 news that Barrick Gold was going to close its hedge book to capitalize on what they projected were going to be higher gold prices.  It turned out to be a very bullish indicator that I wrote about here on this blog (and other blogs picked up on it as well). It was at a time when even I was projecting higher gold prices.  Let’s first review their 2009 decision (source Reuters)

Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) said on Tuesday it had completely eliminated its fixed-price hedge book, allowing the company to take full advantage of rising gold prices and sparking a 7.6 percent rise in its shares.

Perhaps appropriately, the announcement came on a day the price of gold hit $1,200 for the first time, as the hedges -- which totaled 3 million ounces before Barrick began buying them back in September -- had become a symbol of the company's inability to benefit from a favorable gold environment.

"As of today, we are a fully unhedged gold producer," Barrick Chief Executive Aaron Regent said at an investment conference in New York.

The elimination of hedges comes earlier than the company had planned. Barrick said in September that it would get rid of all its hedges within 12 months, but sped up the pace due to the continued rise in gold prices.

"Our positive view on the gold price led us to accelerate the elimination of these contracts ahead of the schedule we had established," Regent said in a statement.

Fast forward to today with the price of gold significantly off its 2011 high.  Kitco today is reporting that some miners might start re-evaluating this strategy and might turn to hedging again.  The decision to close their hedge books was perceived as bullish for the price of gold going forward.  Should miners start to open hedge books again I would perceive this as bearish for the price of the yellow metal going forward.  Only time will tell but it is an important factor that we should keep our eyes on.

From Kitco News:

FOCUS: Some Gold Miners May Rethink Hedging As Costs Rise, Prices Fall

Rising costs and the drop in gold prices last month might put some gold miners in the uncomfortable position of having to consider hedging production.

Production hedging is done to guard against downside price movements and is common in many commodity-based industries. In agriculture, for instance, farmers and other producers will hedge future output to help make at least some of their production price neutral. This can be done by selling futures contracts or through more sophisticated options or other forward contracts. The idea is that if prices go up, the commodity on hand offsets losses from the hedge, while if commodity prices fall, the hedge makes up for the discount the producer takes on the physical commodity.

In metals, however, production hedging is often frowned upon. In the 1990s, hedging was common place when prices were much lower and gold prices were in a bear market. It was big news several years ago when major producers like Barrick announced in 2009 that it was closing its hedge book.

Erica Rannestad, commodity analyst at CPM Group, explained why production hedging in metals can be loathed by corporate shareholders and others: “Some companies don’t want to hedge their primary metal; they feel that hedging represents a lack of belief (in production/prices).”

For some miners, that might be a luxury they cannot afford. Miners have struggled lately with rising operational costs and shareholders are demanding miners hold the line on costs. When gold prices were near their all-time nominal high of $1,925 an ounce, shareholders turned a blind eye to costs, but when the price of gold was stagnating in the upper $1,500 to the lower $1,600s an ounce, reining in costs became important. Then came the mid-April price break.

When prices dipped to the $1,320s area, it started to come close the marginal cost of production plus sustaining capital expenditures, called “all-in costs.” Estimates of those costs range between $1,200 and $1,300, analysts said.

In fairness however, we should point out that this isn’t a done deal.  However, the fact that it is even being discussed may give us some clues as to where the major miners think the price of the yellow metal may be heading.

Not everyone believes that miners will not turn to hedging. Robin Bhar, metals analyst at Societe Generale, said production hedging is going to happen at some point. “We think they have no choice. They can cut expenses, but they might not have a choice but to hedge. Equity holders like the upside they get from the gold price, but at the same time they don’t want the company to be out of business,” Bhar said.

Societe Generale’s commodities team is bearish on the outlook for gold prices and part of the reason is the expectation that producer hedging will put a cap on prices. “It’s one of the reasons why any rallies won’t be sustained. Companies will use the rally to hedge, especially if prices get back to $1,500-$1,550, they’ll use it as an opportunity,” Bhar said.

There is another aspect of hedging that is different now than it was in the 1990s and that’s interest rates are near zero now because of quantitative easing by central banks. That could limit interest in hedging.

“Unlike in previous cycles, any possible producer hedging is unlikely to serve as damper on gold, as it will be very difficult to use traditional forward sales hedging given the credit environment in the commercial banking sector,” said Bart Melek, vice president and director head of commodity strategy, rates and foreign exchange research at TD Securities.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Waiting For Confirmation–I Just Don’t Know

Gold and Silver have been the hot trade over the last month.  With both metals breaking down there was a lot of money to be made on the short side.  There has also bee a great chance to make some money on the long side as both metals continue their bounce.

The only long trade I initiated since that sell-off was the break UP from the silver pennant when it failed.  I closed that trade out at the end of that day (Thurs).  On Friday we saw some interesting action with the market collapsing at the exact gap re-fill of the GLD and gold (the gap from the Monday morning open on the 2nd day of the major sell-off).  I entered a short on that day using SLV puts, starting to scale into a position but my rule is not to average down on options. IF the market in the SLV closed above Friday’s high in the SLV then I will close that trade and take the loss.

I want to wait until the close todays to actually do a proper review of the charts. The purpose of this post is to simply answer the many emails I’ve received asking me to do another update.

There is no shame in saying “I just don’t know” which is exactly what I feel about the market’s current behaviour as it relates to gold and silver and it would be premature for anyone at this point to make such a call considering the price action.

What we cannot lose sight of is that the break of both gold and silver below their long term support shelves (discussed many times by me) on massive volume was clearly a bearish event. We don’t see events like that in a bull market.  The fact we bounced was a positive for the bull side but we are still below those support shelves. The short I played on Friday was on the hopes of catching a reversal today but instead we got additional buying but the market is still reluctant to push above Friday’s high so I am not sure whether or not Friday was the tell and today was the bull trap. I don’t want to speculate.

There has been a massive rush for physical silver and gold around the world since the price collapsed. I think Peter Hug of Kitco Metals did a great job of summarizing this today in his market piece.

Anecdotally, a German friend called me over the weekend confirming that “small” investor retail demand for all types of physical bullion is in a manic stage. He indicated that there were currently 300 on-line bullion dealers in operation in Germany. Reminds me of 1980, long before cell phones and computers, when our bank had lines that stretched around the block, several times, with retail investors rushing to buy product. Then as now, the refineries struggled to ramp up production to meet the demand. I am not going to draw a conclusion on the similarities between now and 1980, but whether in the metals, stocks, housing or bond markets, the word “manic”, rings my bell.

This rang a bell me with to some degree.  I remember my broker (and I’ve written about this story before) calling me approximately 2 or 3 days to tell me he had just left the Scotia Man Branch in downtown Toronto where the line-up to buy silver bullion was an hour long.  He told me that he can’t recall ever seeing such a line-up. less than 3 days later we saw silver get sold off as the May 2011 highs were officially in.  I then tweeted last week that my barber was talking up a storm about gold and silver, essentially repeating every conspiracy to me as I politely nodded and listened with interest as to how he nailed the permabull thesis as he recited it to me.  You can’t do a Google search about gold and silver without being inundated with the supply, suppression or conspiracy theory memes these days as they have become so prevalent. Therefore, I don’t blame the public for jumping in on the physical side because in the course of their research all they read about is the conspiracy meme.  Many of them admittedly don’t understand that there really isn’t a supply issue but a production issue that is affecting supply. 

I’m not hear to tell you to short or go long either metal today.  I’m here to remind people that it’s perfectly ok to simply say “I don’t know” at the moment and to wait for confirmation of price break. However, I cannot agree more with Peter Hug’s closing comment .. “whether in the metals, stocks, housing or bond markets, the word “manic”, rings my bell.”

We have the FED and ECB making key decisions this week.

Take the day off, let’s look at the charts tonight for any clues and I will do my best to provide both the bullish or bearish set ups that catch my eye.

As always, feel free to chime in with your own observations. The sharing of ideas is what makes us all wiser.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Tinka Resources Announces Two Very Important News Items This Past Week

It was my intent over the last 3-4 days to do another update on Tinka Resources but I was hit with some business deadlines that needed my complete attention so I therefore put that update aside until I could provide my readers with an un-rushed update.

You may want to read my last post on Tinka here and my historical due diligence HERE.

More importantly, take note of what I said in that last update;

With that said, it is understood that Tinka will need additional money at some point to continue to finance their exploration work. Given that the climate for raising money is much tougher than it was just 4 months ago, I would perceive any success to raise money in this market climate as a very bullish indicator for Tinka.

rest assured that the recent slide in Tinka has nothing to do with the underlying fundamentals of the company itself. For the longer term horizon, I have no doubt that Tinka appears to be “on sale” at these current levels.

My longer term readers have often also noted that I have referred to Tinka as my “long proxy” for silver ownership.

So what happened this week after I wrote that report?   We’ve had 2 news releases that are in my interpretation at least, very bullish for the company moving forward, irrespective of what market conditions may bring to the stock in the foreseeable future.

News release number 1 on Tuesday announced that the company

The data from the three surveys was combined and re-interpreted by FGG, and 3-D modeling was applied. Modeling of the IP data permits projection of interpretation to 225 m depth in the central and eastern parts of the area where a 50 m dipole spacing was employed and to 125 m depth in the western part of the survey area where a 25 m dipole spacing was used. These surveys were conducted on the company’s 100% owned Ayawilca projected which is located approximately 40km northwest of the Cerro de Pasco mine.  This IP survey  consisted of 9.3 line-km along 5 lines; the combined survey now consists of 33.7 line-km along 17 lines, each spaced 100 m apart and targeted the  eastern extension to the induced polarization ("IP") surveys performed in 2010 and 2012

Of note 
The 3-D inversion modeling has determined two significantly large chargeability anomalies: one in the northwest part of the study area, the other in the central to eastern part. The north-western anomaly (27-40 mV/V) is much shallower than the eastern one; at 50 m depth it spans a distance nearly 1,200 m east-west by 400 m north-south. The stronger anomaly (25-45 mV/V) in the east-central part of the survey is up to 800 m long east-west by 800 m north-south at 200 m depth and remains open at depth and to the east. Between 100 m and 150 m the east-central anomaly spans the entire length of the survey area, almost 1,700 m east-west.

    • Zones of high resistivity are noted to about 100 m depth along the entire width of the survey area; these are replaced by zones of very low resistivity at 200 m depth in the east-central and southern portions of the area, but the results in the western portion of the grid are not known as the survey in that area did not penetrate to that depth. FGG has suggested that the high resistivity anomalies may be attributed to a "silica cap" and these anomalies are believed to represent the Gollarisquizga ("Gollyar") sandstones that overlie the Oyon formation to a depth of 125 m to 150 m from surface.
    • In addition to the latest IP survey, the entire area of the three surveys was tested with ground magnetics in 2013. Four significant anomalies were found: NW-SE trending linear features in northwest part of the grid, a small circular anomaly near the southern part and two broader, elliptical anomalies near the central and eastern parts of the grid.
    • The magnetic anomalies largely overlap the coincident high chargeability/low resistivity IP anomalies. Based on the Company's drilling data thus far, the magnetic anomalies can be accounted for by the presence of massive and semi-massive pyrrhotite and magnetite that commonly occurs with sphalerite, pyrite and lesser galena, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite. Similarly, the high chargeability and low resistivity anomalies can be attributed to these same sulphides and strong argillic alteration, respectively.
      Based on the ground truth obtained thus far, there appears to be a strong correlation between observed sulphide mineralization in drill core and the three types of geophysical anomalies.

In a nutshell, this correlation greatly enhances the potential for discovering further mineralization along these anomalies which remain open and untested east, north and south within the overall anomalous area that spans up to 1,700 m east-west by up to 2,000 m north-south.  This is SIGNIFICANT.  Our potential mineral bearing zone has been expanded by 1.7 km east-west and 2km north south.  More importantly all the proper host rocks are in place which is positive going forward in future exploration. They have encountered the same geophysical signature that has led to their above exceptional exploration results thus far.  I cannot undermine the importance that this IP Survey has in expanding the potential of this deposit.

This brings me to news item number two.  The company has managed to arrange a financing to enable it to move ahead on further exploration.  As I indicated in my post post, highlighted above, I would have perceived this as extremely bullish news considering the state of the mining sector stocks at this current time.  According to the company’s website, on April 24, 2013,

Tinka Resources Limited (the "Company"), (TSXV: TK) (Frankfurt: TLD) (OTCPK: TKRFF), announces a private placement financing of up to 2,353,000 units at a price of $0.85 per unit (the "Unit") for gross proceeds of up to $2,000,050. Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will be exercisable at a price of $1.25 per common share for a period of eighteen months from the date of closing of the private placement.

Therefore, we needed drivers for Tinka going forward and we received two very critical drivers this week.  First, the exceptional IP Survey and the additional private placement. (you can’t drill without the money folks.

Now that we have these two drivers in place, what else will move this stock price other than the fact that is still relatively cheap when valuations are carried out (valuations that I may add were based on $20 silver prices.

Here’s what we will need now going further,

  • Permits for the eighty or so drill platforms covering the east/northeast of the Ayawilca zone.  YES  … you heard that right … 80 PLATIFORMS.  People don’t want to believe me when I tell them how big Tinka’s potential is. It is that big. I believe permits will come (speculation on my part but a calculated one) based on the additional money coming into the company.
  • More results from the Ayawilca drilling on which I will be especially focussed on massive sulphides and the Zinc grades.
  • Additional positive results from Colquipuilcro, (based on historical drilling, I am expecting continued presences of silver.

Let’s now look at the technical picture of the stock.  When I wrote my last piece the stock was at .83 cents and actually traded down close to .80 cents. I called that level a good floor considering what we knew and based on longer term strong support.

Since the news releases this week, it has already started to show signs of recovery as I expected it would.

Tinka april 25

Finally my last chart that illustrated exactly why I continue to buy Tinka as my long proxy exposure to silver.

tk silver

Please read my disclaimer and note that this post is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.  I am long Tinka and look to purchase additional shares. I am not paid by the company to write about them. Please consult your licenced broker/financial planner for any investment advice.  Junior exploration companies are considered speculative plays so please allocate only responsible portions of your overall portfolio to speculative purchases.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Silver And Gold Are Ready To “Tip” Their Hand

I want to discuss what I’m seeing in the silver and gold charts now that I’ve had a chance to review them in greater detail after the dramatic two day plunges we say over a week ago.

I see clear bear pennants forming in both charts that indicate lower prices are on the way.  The selling is not over.

First let me preface this by discussing what exactly a bear pennant is. A bear pennant is seen at various parts of a stocks or equity’s trend. I feel that what has formed in both the gold and especially the silver chart is a bear pennant at the beginning of a downtrend.  The usually definition of such a formation usually requires that the pennant starts to form after a brutal “two day plunge” as we saw when silver and gold sold off. After a dramatic two day plunge, the market has a short-lived consolidation period before the rout continues. We must have volume confirmation of the downward break which we clearly had in both metals.

Let’s see how this applies to the silver chart.  You can see that silver has formed a bearish pennant indicating that the market is simply pausing before the continuation of the trend or initial move. I maintain that we probably see 17.50 – 18.00 before the bleeding is over as I have discussed in my previous posts.

silver April 24

As for gold, it has formed a bearish flag.  This is similar to a pennant in that it occurs after major break in direction.

The bear flag occurs in down trends and is exactly the same pattern as the bull flag, simply flipped upside down. The lines which form the flag can be either flat or pointed upward, and the pole of the pattern is then formed by a line encompassing the move downward which sets up the bear flag consolidation. The pattern is seen as the market potentially just taking a “breather” after a big move downward before continuing its move downward and is therefore referred to as a bearish pattern.

Gold April 24

I am of the view that simply by observing the candlesticks in the silver chart especially, that this consolidation following the big break down is just about complete and we should see a resumption of the move down. It would take a close above $1,441 to place confidence in a possible test of the next fib at $1,470.  Conversely, if we fall beneath the flag line, we could make a move to re-test the lows put in after the sell-off.

Silver in my view looks weaker.  It would take a close above the pennant’s top line to negate the pattern and send silver up to its first fib level. Conversely, a break, and we could easily be on the way to test the sell-off lows pretty quick.  I am of the view that we are simply pausing here before we break lower in both metals.  I would need strong conviction to the upside to change that view. 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Where’s The Growth?

Amidst all this talk in the metals blog space about unsubstantiated claims of LBMA defaults, clients unable to get allocated gold (unsubstantiated) and Comex defaults, let’s try to stick the underlying fundaments that are proving to be the real headwinds for the precious/industrial metals at the current time.  Growth, or lack thereof.

It started with China last night as their PMI coming in at 50.5 down from an expected 51.5 number.  This news then spread to the Euro Zone where German business activity showed further contraction in Europe.  Europe cannot affords to have its biggest player slow down.  These numbers continue to show that the biggest risk short term is deflation … not inflation.

I wonder if any of our soap box friends will emphasize the economic data or simply continue to promote unfounded stories about who was unable to obtain gold from banks un-named. I make the latter statement because “legendary” Jim Sinclair told, you guessed it, KWN that an “unnamed friend was unable to obtain his gold from an “unnamed” Swiss bank and was told he would need to cash settle. Name the Bank! Simple.  Prove the story, prove the central part of the current theme and FORCE that unnamed back to respond.

Friday, April 19, 2013

A Long Overdue Update On Tinka Resources

I haven’t had the time to run a full update for my readers invested in Tinka Resources in a little while simply because of my time constraints and because I’ve been so pre-occupied with observing the gold and silver markets.

With the recent plunge in share price though I have been getting more and more emails from concerned readers wondering what is wrong with Tinka. The short answer is nothing.

I understand that many of my readers invested in Tinka Resources are perhaps worried about the recent plunge.  With this post I hope to give them a little guidance and perhaps a little understanding that they need going forward.

I don’t want to re-print all the due diligence I’ve done on Tinka over the last couple years. Anyone who bought it already knows why they bought it. If you were fortunate enough to enter the market below .15 cents as I was then congratulations. You (me) have nothing to complain about. If you were not so fortunate and paid higher, I can really understand your concern. I would be concerned too as I often was in my less experienced days of investing.

I’ve often said that Tinka was a great proxy to be exposed to silver on the long side. In addition, as recent news as started to indicate, we may also be on the verge of a massive base metals/zinc play at Ayawilca which continues to yield very consistent grades. I really do urge you to read my numerous reports on Tinka if you need more background.

The purpose of this post is in essence to answer the numerous emails I’ve received about Tinka over the last couple of weeks.  I can identify nothing other than general market conditions to account for the recent slip in price. Tinka’s fundamentals remain as strong today (if not stronger) than they were on the climb to $1.20.  The fundamentals have not changed, market conditions have.  When we face these types of market conditions, the better exploration companies usually take the inflow from companies that just don’t have the goods. That is what I expect to happen.

I have made numerous inquires of late into funding for junior exploration companies.  Word on the street from what I have been able to gather is that it is getting increasingly difficult to finance these exploration companies.  The recent slip in the prices of the precious metals has contributed to this.  Take one look at the GDX, HUI and the price of gold and silver to understand what I mean when I say that market conditions have brought Tinka down with the tide.

With that said, it is understood that Tinka will need additional money at some point to continue to finance their exploration work.  Given that the climate for raising money is much tougher than it was just 4 months ago, I would perceive any success to raise money in this market climate as a very bullish indicator for Tinka.  This remains my only junior exploration company in my portfolio because I do believe that this company has the potential to be bought out down the road by a major.  The significance of what they have should not be lost on anyone who is feeling fearful in the markets.

I have personally used this weakness to nibble for a few more shares.  I did not think we would see the low 80’s again but since we got there, I took advantage by adding to my core position.  While I cannot give anyone time-frames nor can I give you targets for the short term, I can only tell you that if you liked the fundamentals at $1.00 or $1.20 then consider that nothing has changed since that time.  The following charts should offer guidance however note that charting exploration companies can be a tad more difficult and less reliable, they are still good indicators for trying to map out strategies.

First the longer term chart of Tinka.  Of note is that while silver and gold both broke down from longer term up-trend lines, Tinka remains above it’s longer term uptrend line. This is important.  Also note that every time Tinka’s RSI has touched 30, it has gone on to rally.

Tinka Longer term RSI

The next chart will provide you with some levels to watch for….

Tinka April 19

Note, that there was the potential for a double top to have been formed at the January and March highs.  If this was the case, the retracement level has already been met with the weekly low of .82 cents.  I would suggest that if indeed we witnessed a double top, the pattern has now completed.  In any event, I still note that the MACD provides that we are still in grossly oversold territory. Note how well the .82 cent level has held up for support.  Should it fail, the 200 day MA would act as next support. A break above .99 is needed to resume the uptrend and to possibly put in place a short term double bottom at .82.  This chart is not predictive as no clear identifiable pattern is present. It is meant to help guide anyone interested in understanding the levels we are dealing with for support and resistance.

Before I get a ton of emails I should state that I cannot predict what the price of Tinka will do.  There are general market conditions at play that will affect all stocks.  I do believe that silver and gold might take one more stab at this recent sell-off low and I also note that the HUI is close to finalizing its head and shoulders pattern that I identified a while ago.  While we may not be at the bottom for gold and silver quite yet, I do believe we are close.  Again, rest assured that the recent slide in Tinka has nothing to do with the underlying fundamentals of the company itself.  For the longer term horizon, I have no doubt that Tinka appears to be “on sale” at these current levels.  I have used this weakness to add to my core position, first established in the teens.  I have also made inquiries and have been advised that there is a possible news release expected next week, the contents of which I am not aware of.

This post is not a recommendation to buy or sell and I am not paid for providing my analysis.  Please ensure you read my disclaimer.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Tonight’s CBC Documentary “The Secret World of Gold”

Canadian viewers will have the opportunity to watch tonight’s CBC’s Doc Zone Documentary called “The Secret World of Gold”.

I will be back later tonight with a complete review of this documentary.  What I do want my Canadian readers, or international readers who have access to the CBC via Satellite etc, to focus on the topics discussed and who is doing the talking.

Word has it that the director chose to interview some of the very same names that have been crying about conspiracy theories in the gold world for years.  GATA, Turk, Sprott et al. I will be interested in seeing if the director, Brian McKenna chose to get opinions from those that dispute the allegations that I already know are going to be made in tonight’s airing.

From what I have gathered from The Gazette, Maguire will also be interviewed along with his conspiracy theories. Why anyone still refers to this guy as a whistleblower despite nobody being able to verify his real background is beyond me.  Given that the Supreme Court shut down the whole price suppression case against JPM because they deemed Maguire’s information to be of little value better be mentioned in this documentary.  The courts didn’t consider it whistleblower evidence… why he is continued to be referred to as one is beyond me.  I wrote in detail about this a while back.

Based on the Globe & Mail, it looks like they had a preview of it and dismissed it as a “Fools Guide” to the gold market.  They were able to see right through it.

I will have further comments at the end of the show.  Keep in mind who says what, what they offer to sell or how they stand to profit from making the allegations that they make and whether or not any rebuttal evidence is provided.  I note that McKenna told the Gazette that Maguire told him that he knew someone was going to dump 500 tonnes of gold onto the market last Friday.  This got McKenna’s attention.  Ask yourselves, is this not inside information?  Did Maguire release any sell recommendations in the week leading up to the sell-off that started last week to his clients?  See if any of this is explored.  Let’s see if Sprott’s sales of silver prior to the 2011 crash are explored or if his sales before the 2013 sell-off are explored. 

In any event, I’ll be taking my notes and offering my own review after the airing.  Somehow I have a feeling that this is going to be nothing more than a conspiracy theorists propaganda piece.  There’s a difference between a conspiracy theory going mainstream and whether or not any of the allegations can be proven.  To date, no official whistleblower with a credible and verifiable story with FACTS HAS COME FORWARD.

Comex To Make It Easier For Smaller Investors To Take Delivery Of Silver With New 1000 oz Contracts

Often, smaller investors have been shut out of actually asking for deliver of physical silver from the Comex given the relatively larger contract sizes (5000 ounces), so, a retail investor standing for delivery would need to pay for 5,000 ounces of silver at minimum which could be quite out of the normal retail investor’s allotted capital.

The CME group has unveiled a new 1,000 ounce contract that would enable investors to stand for delivery of 1,000 ounces of silver at the settlement price. Not bad if you can get a friend or two to go in on that contract with you.

According to the announcement from the Wall Street Journal,

CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of a new physically delivered Silver (1,000 oz.) futures contract, scheduled to begin trading in June 2013. This contract will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of COMEX.

"We're introducing our new 1,000-oz. silver futures contract in response to demand from our customers, who are increasingly looking for cost-effective ways to manage risk," said Robert Ray, CME Group Managing Director EMEA. "The smaller size will provide market participants with greater flexibility to manage their silver price risk, and serve as a more cost-effective tool for individual investors or others looking to hedge against economic uncertainty. This is the first contract of its size that will be fully fungible and deliverable against our existing benchmark silver futures contract."

At one-fifth the size of the existing 5,000-oz. Silver futures contract, this new contract will be conveniently sized for market participants seeking to trade physical silver in smaller increments. It will be fully fungible with the full-sized Silver futures contract, which means that customers who accumulate five warehouse depository receipts of the 1,000-oz. contract can convert them into one 5,000-oz. Silver futures contract.

The addition of a deliverable, 1,000-oz. silver futures contract to the exchange's deep and liquid benchmark precious metals products is expected to provide new trading opportunities for market participants around the globe.

This contract will be available on the CME Globex electronic trading platform, for over-the-counter (OTC) clearing through CME ClearPort and open outcry on the trading floor in New York, beginning with the September 2013 contract month.

This sort of puts a dent in all those rumours flying around that the Comex has no silver for delivery given that they have just made it easier to actually obtain silver.  Ask yourselves a very logical question;   If Comex was facing a default do you think they would make it easier to stand for delivery of physical silver or do you think they would have made it harder? 

This is a great product for silver investors looking to forego the premiums charged by dealers. 

Google Has a Bearish Set Up Into Earnings Tonight

A quick look at the Google chart shows the potential for a major reversal (similar to the one Apple has undergone) if its earnings come in lighter than expected after the bell today.

A quick look at the chart shows that a bearish topping H&S pattern has likely developed and if earnings miss, the potential for a major breakdown is significant. 

google

Short position initiated via May 17th expiration puts at $700 strike avg entry 3.20.  This is not a recommendation to buy or sell this is simply my own opinion.

BIGGER PICTURE levels in gold and silver

I gave you a shorter term view of silver earlier today.  Let’s a take a look at the bigger term implications using the bull market lows as a starting point.

First gold. The chart is annotated so feel free to click on it for a larger view.  Note that if we take the Fibonacci retracement levels from the entire move from the $255.80 low in 2001 to the $1923,79 highs registered in 2011, the first Fibonacci retracement level and thereby the first real area of STRONGEST support sits at $12.75 which is why I keep using that as my downside target in my tweets. I would personally love to see another wave of selling to test that level to really be confident that some sort of lasting bottom is in place.  Note that a failure of that level would see selling to the next support zone of $1,080 which is the 50% retracement of the entire bull market advance.  Note however that until then, the market likes to use round numbers as support so $1300 is a good first level of support. Note, if the market strongly rejects 1275 and turns higher, we may see a significant rally that could challenge the old highs but keep in mind there will be strong resistance along the way at all broken support lines as I identified in my previous charts.

Gold Bull FIBS

Here’s silver bigger term view:  Silver is a bit more problematic in that man of its Fib support levels have already been compromised and the last one that remains sits at $21.66.  Again, I would prefer a test to form a proper base and like gold, should that area be flatly rejected, a move higher, a significant one at that could unfold. A break of $21.66 support though could see prices rapidly decline to 20, 19 and then the $17.50 area which is the last level of support using the retracement from the 2009 breakout which is marked in green on the chart. Silver has the greatest bearish potential of the two metals as a result of this activity when analyzed on the monthly chart from the start of the bull market.

Trading will remain volatile. Use your levels and stops wisely.

Silver bull market fib

Updated Ranges for the SLV

I posted the following chart on Stocktwits the other day:

SLV April 17 AM

Here’s an updated view using yesterday’s data:

April 18 am slv

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Doug Kass v Peter Schiff .. Both Square Off On Gold

I will allow you all to watch the video (in case you missed it earlier today on CNBC) and allow you all to leave your commentary in the comments section.

I can tell you that Per Schiff’s arguments are predictable … anyone following the gold and silver market the last number of years already knows Schiff’s arguments. We’ve all heard them before.  I’ve never really heard Kass square off on the subject however and I doubt many of my readers have either. 

Kass makes a number of valid arguments. 

CNBC has disabled the ability to embed so please CLICK THIS LINK in order to watch the video.

Silver Targets To Watch

Here’s this morning’s chart of Silver. First and foremost, congratulations if you made a money on that tremendous move down as our first target that we maintained since December of 2011 was met ($22.00). Now this is where things can get tricky.   Note the fib levels on the chart that show where overhead resistance lies on any snapback rally. Remember, old support becomes resistance.

SPOT SILVER:

silver retrace

FIRST RESISTANCE: $24.49/24.50 SECOND RESISTANCE $25.09…. IF IT FAILS THE LOW OF $22.00 continues to be support that must hold.  As I was tweeting last night, $22.00 did prove to be a nice little battle ground and the bulls won the first round.  I tweeted if $22.00 held we would see a nice rally and we are getting that today.  I will look to re-short if $24.50 fails on this rally.  IF $25.70 is taken out, we could see a nice $2.00 move to test the breakdown area.  I might get long then… maybe. There is never any harm in staying on the sidelines.

Many people trade the SLV so below is that chart with retracement levels clearly marked.

SLV April 16

I’ll be back later with an update on the metals and for you Tinka Resources Shareholders, I have almost completed that update as well.