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NET COMMERCIALS AND THE U.S. DOLLAR RALLY
by James West
buythebottom.com
forever a student of the markets
October 10, 2006

Broad Markets

Russell 2000 [ http://www.buythebottom.com/rut.html ]
Net-commercial position decreased by 819 contracts, but remains bullish – in view – with a total of 11 413 contracts net long.

S&P 500 [ http://www.buythebottom.com/spx.html ]
Net-commercial position decreased by 3 065 contracts. As this market rallies, commercials are selling into strength. Conversely net-large trader position increased by roughly 1 400 contracts, and currently stands at a total of 34 751 contracts net long. This is their highest net-long position ever and is starting to make me wonder how much more fuel is left in this rally’s tank.

NASDAQ 100 [ http://www.buythebottom.com/ndx.html ]
Net-commercial position increased by 712 contracts. My stance here is neutral to slightly bullish. The market may drag itself higher, but the upside seems limited.

Dow Jones [ http://www.buythebottom.com/indu.html ]
Net-commercial position decreased by 432 contracts. Is this the time to buy the Dow Jones at new record highs? Hmm… Nah, I’ll pass.

Last week I wrote: The Russell 2000 is the most bullish looking index, and continues to be my general market barometer. And until we see significant commercial selling on the RUT, I do not expect the other indexes to top and/or do any significant damage on the downside. I maintain this view, but stress that this rally is getting long in the tooth. I consider the markets to currently be in cyclical bull market within a large secular bear market. So, bet small, and be nimble.

Commodities

Crude Oil [ http://www.buythebottom.com/wtic.html ]
This marks the 7th consecutive weeks of commercial buying. Over the span of the last 7 weeks, net-commercial position increased by 88 328 contracts. Support at $60 was broken, and the new reaction low is at approximately the $58 price level. Now, one must realize that COT data is not exactly a day trading tool. It is a weekly report, and is good for analyzing intermediate term trends. The trend in crude is bottoming / bottomed; now I don’t know where the exact bottom will be and on what day, also I don’t have exact price targets / time frames for where a potential rally may take us. But what I do know for certain is that the time to buy is much closer to now, than when crude was trading above $76. In fact the time to sell was exactly when crude was near $80, NOT now, when it is trading in the low 60s and while commercials are steadily accumulating.

Gold [ http://www.buythebottom.com/gold.html ]
Net-commercial position increased by 3 371 contracts, marking the fourth straight week of commercial buying. Similar story as with crude, this market is setup for a rally. Support at 575 was broken, and the new reaction low is at around the $560 price level. We either saw the bottom last week, or else, the bottom is very close. Also, sentiment readings concerning anything commodities related, is bearish, at least from where I am standing. This is telling me that the fuel is on the sidelines and is ready to support the fire, once it gets started…

Currencies

US Dollar [ http://www.buythebottom.com/usd.html ]
Net-commercial position decreased by 6 313 contracts. It seems like every time the US dollar index rallies, commercials are very eager sellers. I can’t really say that this market is setup for a decline, but at the same time the rally of the past 4 – 5 months is better classified as a trading range. Right now a smart idea is to probably wait out a setup to the downside, it is not here yet, but it is coming…


Regards,
James

© 2006 James West
Editorial Archive

CONTACT INFORMATION
James West
www.buythebottom.com 
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Email: westjam @ gmail.com (Remove the space before and after @ when sending your email)

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