From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

G7 central banks are cutting rates – first Canada and now the European Union.

Will the Federal Reserve follow suit in the coming months?

Investors seem to think so…

US 30-year T-bond futures have posted positive returns six days in a row – their longest winning streak since April last year.

T-bonds also broke above a key polarity zone, triggering our buy signals from last month:

I’ve made clear my disdain for buying treasuries, so the long bond trade will likely be a winner. After all, the best trades are often the hardest to take.

But price is sliding back below our risk level following the May nonfarm payroll data. And a yearlong downtrend line continues to act as resistance. Until T-bond futures break through resistance, the downtrend remains intact,...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The US Dollar Index $DXY is violating its year-to-date trendline.

Is this it? Will the dollar finally follow the breakdowns in crude oil and interest rates?

The forex markets say, “Not so fast…”

Following yesterday’s breakout, the British pound is slipping back into the box as the greenback digs in its heels:

Fading the failed GBP/USD breakout earlier this spring proved rewarding. If you’re feeling spicy, you can take another shot at a mean reversion toward 1.25 – but only if the pound is trading below 1.2750.

On the flip side, I like buying the GBP/USD if it reclaims 1.2775 with a target of 1.3150. This trade will only work if DXY is trending lower. 

The euro is also running into resistance – down 40 pips this morning:

...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

This week, I’m cutting straight to our trade ideas.

I’ve made a table of more than 30 setups, the majority of them trending toward our targets.

And I’ll also update a few trade ideas with new entry levels and additional upside objectives.

Let’s dive in!

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). 

The top four URNJ holdings – accounting for approximately 60% of the ETF – also belong to URNM. In comparison, those same four stocks combine for just 28% of URNM.

URNM also includes the $24B uranium bellwether...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

No matter how you slice it, bonds are stuck in a downtrend.

Perhaps bonds are carving out a tradeable low. If so, we have our levels to trade against. But price is falling away from our entry orders, heading in the opposite direction.    

You just can’t buy long-dated U.S. Treasuries right now…

Check out the U.S. T-Bond ETF $TLT:

TLT is trading beneath a downward-sloping long-term (forty-week) moving average and a yearlong downtrend line. Long-term averages and trendlines epitomize the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) approach to trend analysis because they work.

We can also add a well-defined bearish momentum regime on the 14-week RSI to our bearish data point list. The lackadaisical bid for bonds reminds us that it’s far easier for an asset to fall on weak demand than to rise on dwindling supply. 

During...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

All signs point to a weaker dollar.

Crude oil slipping below 78… interest rates cutting through a multi-month trendline… emerging market currencies hitting fresh year-to-date highs… risk assets ripping…

Yet the buck refuses to budge.

The US Dollar Index $DXY is holding steady at a confluence of support, marked by a critical polarity zone and the year-to-date trendline:

As long as DXY remains above the former resistance level of roughly 104.25, a bearish bias is challenging to maintain.

On the flip side, a decisive close below the April pivot low of 103.88 signals a shift toward dollar weakness....

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

I’ve heard JC say it many times: “You guys are the smart money.”

After spending a week with clients at our Portfolio Accelerator and fielding countless reader emails, I completely agree!  

Since gold and silver prices are getting a bit wild, I decided to dive straight into the Gold Rush mailbag today to start a healthy discussion about what might happen next…

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.

Premium members, be sure to check out the Commodity Trade of the Week below.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Risk assets are enjoying record-breaking highs.

Dr. Copper, Papa Dow, and international equity indexes such as the FTSE 100 are making the new all-time highs list. And Bitcoin will likely join them as it climbs back above 70,000.

Yet the defiant dollar remains afloat.

Nevertheless, risk-seeking behavior, Emerging Market currencies, and interest rates imply the dollar will eventually sink.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury benchmark interest rate led the US Dollar Index $DXY in violating a year-to-date trendline. 

Here’s the US 10-year yield $TNX overlaid with DXY:

The dollar follows the same path as rates. Therefore, the US dollar should follow if the 10-year yield is posting a valid breakdown.

Plus, many of our...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Silver futures are rising to the occasion.

The silver-to-gold ratio went from posting fresh six-month highs last Monday to hitting 16-month highs by Friday’s close.

Silver is ripping on absolute and relative terms, and this can mean only one thing: 

Risk-on!

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.

Copper experienced an explosive rally, adding a dollar-fifty as surging demand forced strong hands to unwind their shorts in 2020 and 2021.

If gold is heading to 5K, copper is making its way to eight bucks – but first, it must...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Rates are rolling over… 

And bonds are catching a bid.

After four months of steady selling pressure, US Treasuries are finally carving out a tradeable low.

Let’s take a look!

Regardless of duration, the following bond charts present an identical tactical approach.

Two key themes dominate these trade setups: entry points designated by price reclaiming the February 2024 lows and initial targets set at the December 2023 highs.

Of course, there’s always an exception…

Check out the US 30-year T-bond futures:

Like the following charts, we can measure our risk at a key pivot low from late February.

I like buying T-bond futures against 117’27. But instead of targeting the December 27th high of 125’30, I prefer to aim at a critical shelf of former lows at approximately 122’30.

If and when price manages...