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There is a pretty good argument that we have the completion of the move up that has taken place over the last 6 mo.s. Active contract Daily click to enlarge Note the 14 Day RSI is exhibiting negative divergence, and the MACD rolling/crossing down.  The structure up can be counted as 5 waves. The "e" = .46 of the "c", the "c" = 1.5 of the "a", and the "e" = .39 of "a" thru "c". Even if you are viewing the last 6 mo.s up as  the beginning of a longer term upward structure that makes significant new highs, this is looking like a place to take profits with serious risk of a major pullback, ie a 50% retrace of the last six mo.s, or 125 points. There is a tremendous amount of complacency out there..note the VIX  click to enlarge Readings below 17 mark the beginning of major moves down ,  and there is a very high risk of that being true again. No matter what the Fed does. This argues for more than  merely a correctiv

 From the WTI Update of Dec 22;    "the -C- = .618 of the  -A- at 91.76. Also roughly the 50% retrace on the above chart..... In general looking at this as an area that would likely be significant resistance for this contract and potentially the exhaustion point  of the B wave up." It DID print 12 cents above that point, however the Fib ratios on this scale have a lot of wiggle room. Subsequent legs to the downside ARE structuring as 5 waves. click to enlarge If you think the move down is corrective that makes what I have labeled 1 the A, so you want the C not to exceed the A , or 90.03, additionally the .382 retrace of the last structure up is at 89.95. If the 3=1.62 of the 1 it targets 89.19.

Courtesy of Reuters click to enlarge

Equity valuations, long term P/E expectations and long rates vs commodity returns,  nicely articulated by John Hussman in A Fed-Induced Speculative Blowof

It's been 10 days since the last post ,  when the market had just printed 3.96, and the bounce to Fibonacci resistance called for was accurate. "So a bounce from near here would be expected ...50% of the last 4.55 to 3.96 leg is at 4.25, .382 = 4.18." Turns out both 4.25 and 4.18 are providing a little resistance, and it looks like the 4.18 may get a re test  (written this morning when trading around 4.00) However the count still suggests further downside work and a new low for the Feb contract will coincide nicely with the 3.80 target for the spot month mentioned in Natural Gas Update from Dec 9;   "If this top is in here an X wave could easily retrace .62 of the move up from 3.28 (to 4.65), to target 3.80."  Jan Hourly  click to enlarge Note the 50% retrace at this afternoons highs of the 1. And if that -a-,-b-,-c- structure up is completed, a move down equal to the 1 (or a) will target 3.86 from here.   These are relatively unexciting swings to be ma

I was waiting for a flight to come in at Newark Airport yesterday and was in my normal impatient pre holiday mood, working through all I had to do before Christmas. Waiting for the plane,  I noticed a slightly tense couple next to me waiting to meet someone. They looked like they had been there awhile. Typical airport scene, everyone in a hurry. A tan, slightly weather beaten man about 35 came out from the arrival hall and I noticed he was wearing camo's and desert boots. The woman next to me raced forward and wrapped her arms around this guy and was not letting go, she was holding on as if a life depended on it. Quite a few minutes later they turned to go and of course she was crying tears of joy and really probably a whole lot of feelings I can only guess at it. Believe me , it's one thing to see a picture of this, and a whole 'nother thing to see it in person. I don't really know what the back story there was, but witnessing that reunion was a gift, it really put

From last Wed post ; "Just does NOT look like a big impulse wave down, or even ready to begin one for that matter. So looking for an attempt to test the highs. May fail of course." On the road today (like a lot of the last week) but will try and update this as I go; Some quick charts  Active Mo Continuation Week   click to enlarge All these continuation charts have slightly different highs and lows, but this one is what I am going to work with.  Note the negative divergence on the weekly 14 RSI.  Additionally the -C- = .618 of the  -A- at 91.76. Also roughly the 50% retrace on the above chart. Note the daily 14 RSI neg divergence. On the daily chart above the "c" wave began at 70.76 in late Aug. and moved up to 88.63 on Nov 11. before pulling back to 80.28 on the 23rd of Nov. This latest leg up will = .618 of that 70.76 to 88.63 structure at  91.32 The 147 to 32.4 initial "A" wave down is retraced 51.5% at 91.32. In general looking at this as

The sharp move lower in Natty over the last week, at 68 cents (remember the good ole days!), represents a 15% decline in a week. You don't see that % decline, that quickly, often.  This mornings lows of 3.96 represent a 50% retrace on the spot month chart of the 3.28 to 4.64 structure. Additionally a case can be made for 5 subwaves down from 4.55 click to enlarge Note the negative divergence on the hourly 14 RSI. So a bounce from near here would be expected ...50% of the last 4.55 to 3.96 leg is at 4.25, .382 = 4.18. The last post calling for the X wave down that we are experiencing, was pretty timely and I hope everyone got a look. I Instant Message Skokie Energy clients when  I post, and also try and feed Twitter. If you email me with some info I will add you to the I M list. guywbishop@gmail.com

Couple of recent headlines... from Dec 15 Commodity Assets Expand to Record $345 Billion in November, Barclays Says  and from B of A Fund Managers Survey : a huge surge in energy bulls   A net 44 percent of the respondents predict the world’s economy to strengthen in 2011, compared to 35 percent a month earlier. A net 51 percent anticipate corporate profits improving next year, up from 36 percent in November. At the same time, more investors believe that inflation is likely to rise with a net 61 percent of the panel forecasting higher core inflation in 2011. Energy has dislodged Technology from its pedestal as the world’s favorite stock sector for the first time in a year. Technology had been the top pick for 11 consecutive months since January. A net 38 percent of asset allocators are overweight Energy, up sharply from a net 24 percent in November. A net 34 percent of the panel is overweight Technology, a monthly fall of one percentage point. A second large gainer was

click to enlarge Just does NOT look like a big impulse wave down, or even ready to begin one for that matter. So looking for an attempt to test the highs. May fail of course. PS 1:00 pm, The 50% retrace of the 147 to 32.40  5 wave leg down , at 89.70 has been pushed through of course. Is it possible that the .618 retrace at 103 can be achieved in this macro environment? Unlikely, for political considerations if nothing else. Additionally the USD appears to be supported here and may be beginning a new move up. How far can the "50%" retrace area be pushed? Maybe 52% still qualifies as being in the window. That would be 92.00. And while crude stocks are showing some return from the stratosphere, what exactly is so bullish about the following charts:

Natty cranked up to near levels that can be seen as significant resistance for an initial abc structure up from the 3.28 lows. Continuation Daily click to enlarge The key points here are the c=1.03 of a, and the move up from 3.28 now equals .36 of the 2.40 to 6.11 abc structure up from the lows last year. NG has also retraced 48% of the 6.11 to 3.28 move down. None of these Fibonacci relationships are hitting the mark exactly ( often the case) but taken together they suggest extreme caution regarding expectations for further upside from here, at least medium term. Though not shown on the above , the daily RSI is also showing slight negative divergence at the high, and the slow stochastic is rolling over.  So while this may be still only be the beginning of a more robust structure up that occurs over the next  couple years, an X wave down is to be expected at some point. Additionally the avg seasonal  price peak is Nov 20,  so it's right in there. If this top is in here an X wave c

Michael Pettis describes the classic "between a rock and a hard place" the Eurozone faces in  The rough politics of European adjustment A must read that leaves one wondering what the future political landscape of Europe will look like.

Don't miss this from Zero Hedge; Arms (TRIN) Index At Most Extreme Deviation Since 1956

Here's a little something to keep in mind as Rbob gets hammered today. From Reuters; managed money net longs.   The just realeased EIA inventoy numbers; 10:30 08Dec10 RTRS-EIA-U.S. WEEKLY GASOLINE STOCKS UP 3.81 MLN BBLS TO 213.96 MLN, VS FORECAST OF 0.5 MLN BBL BUILD 10:30 08Dec10 RTRS-EIA-U.S. WEEKLY DISTILLATE STOCKS UP 2.15 MLN BBLS TO 160.21 MLN, VS FORECAST OF 0.5 MLN BBL DRAW  click to enlarge So if you're long anytime after Dec 1 you are now under water. PS    Y on Y Gas demand down.7%

The pull your hair out contract. I haven't posted on this forever, since Nov.22, Natural Gas Update (self protection prob.) All the comments and the count in that post are still relevant. Targets remain 4.80 to 5.10...for this first abc up from 3.28.

Starting to feel like Bob Prechter in the '90's...All Bear All the Time. And all the old sayin's like "a bull market climbs a wall of worry" and " buy a market that goes up in the face of bad news" are runnin round my head. Problem is: I hate buying a market that is being supported by only one factor, even if it is the Fed; From the 60 Minutes interview with Ben; Q: How would you rate the likelihood of dipping into recession again? A: It doesn’t seem likely that we’ll have a double dip recession. And that’s because, among other things, some of the most cyclical parts of the economy, like housing, for example, are already very weak. And they can’t get much weaker. And so another decline is relatively unlikely. Now, that being said, I think a very high unemployment rate for a protracted period of time, which makes consumers, households less confident, more worried about the future, I think that’s the primary source of risk that we might