From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The US dollar is approaching a slippery slope. 

And few markets embrace a falling dollar quite like precious metals.

Yet gold’s response to a weakening dollar so far has been subdued, perhaps due to elevated real yields.

But gold’s crazy cousin, silver, has enjoyed quite the boost…

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The US dollar is approaching a slippery slope. 

And few markets embrace a falling dollar quite like precious metals.

Yet gold’s response to a weakening dollar so far has been subdued, perhaps due to elevated real yields.

But gold’s crazy cousin, silver, has enjoyed quite the boost…

Here’s silver reclaiming a critical seven-month polarity zone:

While gold rose 1.6% last week, silver ripped more than 8% – hence the “crazy” descriptor. 

Silver’s explosive gains highlight a crucial takeaway aside from its high-beta status: investor willingness to accept greater risk in precious metals.

Notice gold futures and the silver-to-gold ratio tend to track one another:

Silver outperforming gold represents a healthy risk-on development that supports higher gold prices.

The silver-to-gold ratio led off the bottom last fall… and gold followed, climbing 28% to its May high.

On the flip side, the ratio failed to post a higher high this spring as gold retested an area of overhead supply (and all-time highs).

The silver-to-gold ratio’s bearish divergence...

The two major catalysts that will propel gold to new all-time highs are veering in different directions. 

US real yields are challenging fresh decade highs (not ideal for a gold rally) while the dollar is pressing against its year-to-date lows.

A breakdown in the US dollar index $DXY would no doubt send gold bugs dancing in the streets everywhere around the world.

I believe a weaker dollar remains critical to the next secular uptrend in Gold. But do real yields need to roll over as well? 

I’m leaning toward no. Here’s why…

The two major catalysts that will propel gold to new all-time highs are veering in different directions. 

US real yields are challenging fresh decade highs (not ideal for a gold rally) while the dollar is pressing against its year-to-date lows.

A breakdown in the US dollar index $DXY would no doubt send gold bugs dancing in the streets everywhere around the world.

I believe a weaker dollar remains critical to the next secular uptrend in Gold. But do real yields need to roll over as well? 

I’m leaning toward no. Here’s why…

First, a quick reminder as to why real yields represent a potential headwind for Gold: 

An inverted chart of the US 10y real rate looks almost identical to a chart of gold futures, as the inverse relationship between these two has been strong over the past 15 years.

So it stands to reason that rising rates would hinder any meaningful rally in Gold. 

And so far, they have. Gold has gone nowhere (down roughly 10%) as the 10y real yield has risen almost 300bps since March 2022. That’s not much of a decline considering the explosive increase in the real yield....

From the Desk of Ian Culley

Healthy retest or failed breakout?

These are the scenarios rolling through my mind as I watch the Gold Miners ETF $GDX.

It’s easy to lean toward further weakness based on recent selling pressure and the five-year real yield breaking out to fresh decade highs. 

But who likes easy? I certainly don’t. I doubt gold bugs do, either.  

Luckily, I always defer to price action across multiple time frames for insight. As Brian Shannon always says, “It’s price that pays.”

And in the case of GDX, the charts aren’t as bearish as you might think…

From the Desk of Ian Culley

Healthy retest or failed breakout?

These are the scenarios rolling through my mind as I watch the Gold Miners ETF $GDX.

It’s easy to lean toward further weakness based on recent selling pressure and the five-year real yield breaking out to fresh decade highs. 

But who likes easy? I certainly don’t. I doubt gold bugs do, either.  

Luckily, I always defer to price action across multiple time frames for insight. As Brian Shannon always says, “It’s price that pays.”

And in the case of GDX, the charts aren’t as bearish as you might think…

Check out the monthly chart of GDX:

GDX closed the month of June above a critical shelf of former highs at approximately 30 despite slipping below that key level earlier in the month.

I find the monthly close constructive for the bullish case. The prospect of a healthy pullback remains viable as long as it holds above that key level.

On the other hand, the notion of a constructive retest loses validity if price undercuts those former highs.

Nevertheless, a look at last week’s candle entertains the possibility of a near-term...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Buyers are holding the line. 

The former 2011 highs remain front and center for gold futures – and all precious metals.

These shiny rocks will experience increased selling if gold slips back below those former highs marking the prior commodity supercycle peak. 

Silver, palladium, and the Gold Mining ETF $GDX are already printing fresh lows. And new multi-month lows for the silver/gold ratio indicate dwindling risk appetite.

These aren’t the type of developments that support a sustained uptrend.

Yet this action hasn’t deterred gold bugs.

Despite every reason to sleep in and shirk any and all responsibilities, they continue to show up right on time…

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Buyers are holding the line. 

The former 2011 highs remain front and center for gold futures – and all precious metals.

These shiny rocks will experience increased selling if gold slips back below those former highs marking the prior commodity supercycle peak. 

Silver, palladium, and the Gold Mining ETF $GDX are already printing fresh lows. And new multi-month lows for the silver/gold ratio indicate dwindling risk appetite.

These aren’t the type of developments that support a sustained uptrend.

Yet this action hasn’t deterred gold bugs.

Despite every reason to sleep in and shirk any and all responsibilities, they continue to show up right on time…

Even on Monday!

Check out the monthly gold chart:

I’m taunting the chart police, posting an incomplete monthly candlestick. But I’m not interested in analyzing the June candle, so it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is the former 2011 high at 1,923.7. That’s the line in the sand. And the monthly chart provides the cleanest example.

I also find the past two instances gold has traded...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

I left gold bugs an urgent message last week.

“This mess could turn downright ugly for the entire precious metals space if buyers don’t step in and support higher prices in palladium – and fast.”

I am many things, but “alarmist” isn't one of them. I simply find it hard to believe gold will post new all-time highs while palladium falls to fresh five-year lows.

Call me crazy, but those two puzzle pieces don’t seem to fit.

Perhaps we’ll never know for sure, as buyers showed up right on cue, driving palladium higher ahead of the three-day weekend. 

Last week’s strength bodes well for all metals, industrial and precious. So I’ll reiterate critical levels to trade against in palladium.

But I also want to share a strong correlation between this multifaceted metal and a market I would never have guessed…

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

I left gold bugs an urgent message last week.

“This mess could turn downright ugly for the entire precious metals space if buyers don’t step in and support higher prices in palladium – and fast.”

I am many things, but “alarmist” isn’t one of them. I simply find it hard to believe gold will post new all-time highs while palladium falls to fresh five-year lows.

Call me crazy, but those two puzzle pieces don’t seem to fit.

Perhaps we’ll never know for sure, as buyers showed up right on cue, driving palladium higher ahead of the three-day weekend. 

Last week’s strength bodes well for all metals, industrial and precious. So I’ll reiterate critical levels to trade against in palladium.

But I also want to share a strong correlation between this multifaceted metal and a market I would never have guessed…

The Nasdaq 100 $QQQ!

Check out these charts Bartelloni shared with JC, revealing the relationship over a decade ago.

(Big thanks to Jan for bringing the article to my attention!)

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Gold can’t do all the heavy lifting.

I believe a generational rally for gold has already begun. But my structural outlook hinges on the former 2011 peak.

Gold must hold above that former high, marking the end of the previous secular bull run. 

It’s held this level so far. 

But if gold has any chance of printing new all-time highs as it has versus most major global currencies, it needs a little help from its friends…

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Gold can’t do all the heavy lifting.

I believe a generational rally for gold has already begun. But my structural outlook hinges on the former 2011 peak.

Gold must hold above that former high, marking the end of the previous secular bull run. 

It’s held this level so far. 

But if gold has any chance of printing new all-time highs as it has versus most major global currencies, it needs a little help from its friends…

I’m talking about the rest of the precious metals space – silver, platinum, and palladium.

Silver is hanging tough as it attempts to reclaim last month’s pivot lows. But this is a lonely bullish data point – one I imagine gold bugs wish they could attribute to palladium.

Check out the Aberdeen Physical Palladium ETF $PALL:

Instead of challenging former support from below, PALL is breaking down to fresh four-year lows. The breakdown in palladium fails to reflect the broad demand for metals I associate with the next secular uptrend in gold.

In short, this is not bull market behavior.

To be clear, I’m not interested in shorting PALL. It...