Briefly: In our opinion speculative short positions (full) in gold, silver and mining stocks are justified from the risk/reward perspective. We are keeping the stop-loss levels at their current levels, which means that we are effectively keeping some gains locked in and at the same time we’re allowing the profits to increase.

Gold moved a little higher yesterday only to disappoint in the following part of the session. Gold stocks plunged without looking back. The decline continues – will it end soon?

Not likely. Let’s see a few reasons why we think this will be the case, starting with the short-term gold chart (charts courtesy of http://stockcharts.com).

Click here for reference chart.

Our yesterday‘s comments remain up-to-date:

Gold moved decisively lower last week and the final closing price of the week was only $2 higher than the lowest weekly close of the entire 2011-today decline. The previous lowest weekly close formed on Nov. 28 2014 at $1,165.80 and last Friday gold closed at $1,168.20. If gold closes just a little lower this Friday, we’ll have a breakdown in terms of weekly closing prices with very bearish implications for the following weeks.

It could be the case that gold bottoms in the May – June time frame close to the $1,000 level.

On a short-term basis, we see that gold dropped sharply and significantly on Friday. The volume was high, so it doesn’t seem that the decline was a fake move. Naturally, we could see some sideways trading here (gold is already moving a bit higher today, which is in tune with the above) as gold is likely to take a breather, but it doesn’t seem likely that the decline is over yet.

Gold remains in a declining trend channel and its likely to continue declining without a bigger counter-trend upswing until reaching our next interim target level based on the previous major lows.

Gold moved a little lower yesterday but we would not be surprised to see a small rally in the coming days, which would not take gold above the declining trend channel and thus would not change the bearish outlook.

Since not much changed in the silver market (the medium-term outlook remains bearish), we will move right to the mining stock sector.

Click here for reference chart.

The HUI Index moved lower once again and is even closer to its 2008 and 2014 lows, which has bearish implications as it increases the odds of a confirmed breakdown below them. Our yesterday’s comments remain up-to-date:

Gold stocks plunged sharply on Friday and are now well below their 2013 lows. It seems that they are back in the decline mode and their previous outperformance was indeed a very temporary phenomenon, as we expected. Once miners move below their 2008 and 2014 lows at about 150, we’ll likely see a slide below 120, perhaps even (very temporarily) below 100. Our target area in this range remains up-to-date.

On the above chart we see that the gold stocks‘ previous outperformance didn’t invalidate any trends – the decline remains in place and the outlook remains bearish.

Interestingly, given the current value of the HUI to gold ratio, the size of its decline on Friday and the fact that we are likely to see more declines in the coming weeks, it seems likely that the ratio will move below the previous 2000 and 2014 lows. In other words, gold stocks will quite likely be cheaper relative to gold than they were at any point during this entire bull market. It seems that we will have an extremely favorable buying opportunity in the following months – it’s definitely the right time to be paying attention to what’s going on in the precious metals market.

The XAU Index (that includes both gold stocks and silver stocks) is already extremely close to its 2008 and 2014 lows. Only a little more weakness is needed for this index to break below these lows and to move even lower. The next major support is very low – close to the 42 level – so there will be significant downside if the breakdown is confirmed. It will be critical to watch the situation develop in the upcoming weeks and react to breakdowns and their confirmations.

Overall, yesterday’s session confirmed what we wrote previously.

Summing up, the precious metals sector moved much lower on Friday and it seems that it was another step in the current true direction of the market. We are likely to see a small corrective upswing here, but it doesn’t seem that we will see a more visible correction until we see gold close to its 2014 low. Gold stocks are now once again underperforming gold, which serves as a confirmation that the correction is over and the decline will now continue.

Even though the size of the profits on the current short position may suggest that’s it’s worth taking them off the table (we opened the short position on Jan. 23 when gold was at about $1,300), it seems that the risk/reward ratio still favors keeping the position open as it doesn’t seem that the decline is over. Even though gold has already fallen significantly, it’s still likely to decline even more in the coming weeks and it is this outlook that makes us think that the short position remains justified at this time.

To summarize:

Trading capital (our opinion): Short positions (full) in gold, silver and mining stocks with the following stop-loss orders and initial (!) target prices:

Gold: initial target level: $1,135; stop-loss: $1,234, initial target level for the DGLD ETN: $85.48; stop loss for the DGLD ETN $65.45

Silver: initial target level: $15.10; stop-loss: $17.23, initial target level for the DSLV ETN: $74.05; stop loss for DSLV ETN $48.36

Mining stocks (price levels for the GDX ETN): initial target level: $17.13; stop-loss: $21.17, initial target level for the DUST ETN: $23.49; stop loss for the DUST ETN $11.35

In case one wants to bet on lower junior mining stocks’ prices, here are the stop-loss details and initial target prices:

GDXJ: initial target level: $22.13; stop-loss: $27.38

JDST: initial target level: $14.58; stop-loss: $7.10

Long-term capital (our opinion): No positions

Insurance capital (our opinion): Full position

Disclaimer

All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.