It now appears that the gold complex has successfully tested support. Gold held above $1305, the low for the year set on March 5 and above the psychologically important level of $1300. GDX, the gold stock ETF, held above the December 2017 low of $21.25. No new lows support the potential for an upturn. Gold closed up $33 for the week at $1349.90, well above its 50 day moving average at $1331.
Last week, gold broke through its downtrend line against stocks as demonstrated in the below weekly chart of the ratio of gold to the S&P500. In our view, gold in a bull market has to outperform the stock market. It's early, but this breakout above the blue downtrend line looks promising.
This breakout could be sustained if the S&Ps break down further this week. The S&Ps closed pretty much on their lows last Friday and just seven points above the February 8 low of 2581, as highlighted in the below daily chart of the index with the blue line marking the low for the year. Could a new low bring a deeper correction into play?
This coming Thursday is the last trading day of the month, which raises an interesting possibility. On a monthly basis, gold has established a string of higher lows since it bottomed in December 2015. The closing monthly high for gold since the 2015 bottom is $1358, just eight dollars above last Friday's close. Closing above $1358 at week's end could help to establish that gold has in fact entered a new bull phase. Here is the three year monthly chart for gold.
One final fact to consider. If you remember how the 2008 financial crisis unfolded, one of the key signals was the soaring TED spread…the spread between the risk free T-Bill interest rate and the overnight rate charged corporate borrowers in the eurodollar market. Essentially, this is a measure of the credit risk in the private lending market. Since mid-February of this year, the TED spread has skyrocketed higher. Something is amiss in the credit markets. Perhaps it is as simple as a lack of liquidity as U.S. corporations take money out money market instruments in order to repatriate funds under the new tax laws. Or could it be that increased Treasury issuance and Federal Reserve Quantitative Tightening (sales of assets) are crowding out the private sector? Whatever the explanation, it suggests another reason to opt for the safety of gold.
This article is the collaboration of Rudi Fronk and Jim Anthony, cofounders of Seabridge Gold, and reflects the thinking that has helped make them successful gold investors. Rudi is the current Chairman and CEO of Seabridge and Jim is one of its largest shareholders. Disclaimer: The authors are not registered or accredited as investment advisors. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed reliable but is not necessarily complete and accuracy is not guaranteed. Any securities mentioned on this site are not to be construed as investment or trading recommendations specifically for you. You must consult your own advisor for investment or trading advice. This article is for informational purposes only.
Want to read more Gold Report articles like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent articles and interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit our Streetwise Interviews page.
Disclosures:
1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Rudi Fronk and Jim Anthony and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The authors are wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in any aspect of the content preparation. The authors were not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the authors to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
2) Rudi Fronk and Jim Anthony: we, or members of our immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Seabridge Gold. We personally are, or members of our immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: Seabridge Gold.
3) Seabridge Gold is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article.
