From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Metal and mining stocks are hanging tough.

Sure, miners aren’t flashing an overwhelming number of new highs, but they’re also not registering an alarming number of new lows.

That’s impressive, especially considering Copper’s epic false start.

While many precious and base metal stocks consolidate, let’s review the next group of mining names before they rip…

Check out the Junior Uranium Miners ETF $URNJ versus the Uranium Miners ETF $URNM:

Despite the significant overlap between these two ETFs, I view a breakout in the URNJ-to-URNM ratio as a clear risk-on signal (much like the relative strength displayed by junior gold miners). 

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Don’t let a few days of selling pressure fool you.

Despite intense gold, copper, and crude oil pullbacks, many commodity-related assets are flashing buy signals.

For instance…

The Global Carbon ETF $KRBN:

KRBN holds a basket of European and U.S. carbon allowance futures – also known as carbon credits. Companies use these credits to offset the costs of releasing greenhouse gases.

Interestingly, the similarities between the carbon allowances, copper versus gold, and silver versus gold charts are uncanny. All three are violating multi-year downtrend lines, suggesting bullish trend reversals and a risk-on market environment.

We like KRBN long above 35, targeting 56.

That’s it for today. We’ll be back with more next week.

Thanks for reading.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Gold did its part earlier in the spring, paving the way for the rest of the metals space.

Now, silver is posting fresh decade highs, uranium names are triggering buy signals, and Dr. Copper is slicing through overhead supply. 

Plus, increasing copper demand has caught the smart money offside.

Check out copper futures with the Commitment of Traders profile in the lower pane:

Fading commercial (smart money) positioning tends to produce pain. 

But even the strongest hands can find themselves on the wrong side of a trade. It happened to commercial hedgers back in 2020, and it’s happening again today.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Crude oil is searching for a foothold. Copper is climbing. And gold is clinging to its record high.

Like most of the market, raw materials are weathering the storm with varying degrees of success.

Nevertheless, today’s commodity deck includes plenty of uplifting charts – plus a trade you’ll want to take home over the weekend…

Check out the Water Resources ETF $PHO posting a new all-time high:

JC discussed PHO at the start of 2022 during a Live Strategy Session.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The talking heads are about to call the top in commodities.

It’s coming, so we might as well prepare. 

In fact, it’ll only get louder if the US dollar follows crude’s lead…

Crude oil and the dollar have traded in sync for a few years now (mainly due to the strong positive correlation between the buck and interest rates).

During Q3 of last year, the energy sector rallied with the US dollar while most of the market fell under pressure. 

This relationship has been so strong we actually like swapping bonds for energy stocks in the new sixty-forty portfolio.

But crude oil, interest rates, and the US dollar have rallied for almost four straight months. 

They’re all due for a correction.

Here’s crude oil leading the way, violating a multi-month trendline:

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Natural gas futures are due for a pop.

It might sound silly as the widow-maker is falling back toward its mid-1990s lows.

But this is a logical level to witness a sustained rally. Especially when you consider previous cycles and where Natural Gas is trading relative to crude…

Earlier this week, JC mentioned the crude oil vs. natural gas ratio during an internal strategy session.

He tracked this relationship when he day-traded natty gas, using it as a mean reversion indicator.

Fast-forward to today, and the crude-to-natural-gas ratio is retreating from its highest level in more than a decade.

The last time the ratio hit these levels, natural gas futures ripped 225% in less than two years. 

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The media is showering gold and precious metals with attention.

I get it. New all-time highs capture eyes. 

But you can’t leave copper and base metals out of the story…

Copper is ripping to its highest level in almost two years, posting a 15% year-to-date gain:

For perspective, the S&P 500 is up less than 5% since January 1.

Our next profit target of roughly 4.85 is now in focus. A decisive break above this new objective sends copper toward new all-time highs and the psychologically important five-dollar level.  

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Nobody is paying attention to platinum.

It’s easy to overlook while gold shines and silver rips. But during the last commodity supercycle, platinum traded at a premium to the famous shiny yellow rock (and still does regarding retail jewelry).

Platinum was a powerhouse!

Check out gold and platinum futures overlaid going back to the 1970s:

Both peaked within a month of each other in the early 1980s and experienced rip-roaring rallies during the 2000s.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Commodities are hot.

Even the most ardent tech investors can’t avert their gaze from Gold’s eye-catching new highs. 

If you find yourself unprepared, don’t be alarmed. We have a plan…

Buy base breakouts.

Check out coffee futures ripping above a shelf of former highs:

We often joke that catching base breakouts like this gets us out of bed in the morning. (It’s the best part of waking up.)   

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Black Gold is breaking out!

Crude oil is flipping weeks of indecision into conviction following a hard retest that frustrated traders earlier this month. 

Let’s take a look…

Check out crude’s upside resolution to fresh five-month highs:

Yesterday marked the completion of a tight bull flag – a typical characteristic of an uptrend.

The path of least resistance points higher toward our 95 target. 

However, I would be remiss not to mention momentum. The 14-day RSI has yet to register an overbought reading above 70. 

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Commodities are in the early innings of a secular bull run.

The list of raw materials hitting all-time highs since 2020 includes Gold, Copper, Wheat, Soybean Oil, Cattle,  Orange Juice, Cocoa, Heating Oil, Gasoline, Palm Oil, Lumber, Tin, Rebar, Iron Ore, and Coal. (If that roll call doesn’t scream commodity supercycle, I don’t know what does.) 

It’s an exhaustive list that will only grow in the coming years. Remember, these cycles can last decades. We’re only in year four!

Of course, there are also some laggards amongst the ranks. (ahem, Crude). But don’t lose sight of the bigger picture! 

Even Soybeans are queuing up for new all-time highs…

Check out soybean futures zoomed out to the 1950s:

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Metals are working.

Gold is printing new all-time highs. Copper is trading above four bucks. And Palladium…

Well, Palladium has stopped going down.

Considering Palladium’s Commitment of Traders (COT) profile, its tendency to trend with technology stocks, and where it stopped falling…

It’s time to buy!

Check out the long-term Palladium chart stretching back to the late 70s: