While U.S. stocks (NYSEArca: VTI) peaked in late April, silver peaked in mid-May and gold in late June. While the S&P 500, Dow Industrials, and Nasdaq have all given bear market trading signals, neither gold (NYSEArca: GLD) nor silver (NYSEArca: SLV) have done so. The technical indicators for both metals are deteriorating however and more serious drops could lie ahead.
Gold and silver are unique in that they are monetary metals and the market treats them as currency substitutes. This is more the case for gold than it is for silver. Of all the metals, gold has the least industrial use. Only about 13% of annual output is used in manufacturing, mostly for electronic products such as cell phones and computers. Gold is not useless as many commentators claim, unless you live like the Amish. Silver, on the other hand, has a greater industrial role with 50% of its production being used for this purpose. Silver will therefore be more strongly impacted by economic developments than will gold.
Both gold and silver are still trading in a bullish chart pattern with their 50-day simple moving averages above their 200-days. Their technical indicators though have turned negative on the daily charts. Most have moved below the point that divides bullish from bearish action. The trend indicator DMI (directional movement index) gave a sell signal for gold in early July around the same time that the more serious bear market signal took place on the S&P 500 (NYSEArca: SPY) and Dow Industrials (NYSEArca: DIA). Yesterday, the price of silver closed below its 200-day moving average. Gold is still trading above this key line.
In the long-term, gold and silver will prove to be two of the best investments in the market. This doesn't mean that they will go up every day or that they can't have significant reversals. A double-dip recession will certainly be a negative for silver prices, although perhaps less so than for copper or other industrial metals this time around. If silver starts to trade consistently below its 200-day moving average, it too will be giving a bear market signal. It is still too early to tell whether or not gold will follow. A price drop to the 200-day moving average, currently at 111.61 and rising for GLD, is almost certain at this point though.
Disclosure: No Positions.
Daryl Montgomery
Organizer, New York Investing meetup
http://investing.meetup.com/21
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