Ever wonder why Aug and Sep are weak months?Ever wonder why the market is historically weaker in August and September? On August 15 interest on treasuries is paid from the Fed "other reserves" account which appears to briefly tighten central bank liquidity (normally adverse to risk assets during the QE/QT era). On September 15 the final quarterly tax payment for the fiscal year is due, which seems to be preceded by a brief drawdown.
The combination of the 2 events this time of the year result in seasonal weakness. Looking at the years 2015 through 2022 we can observe that the market was:
trending up leading into August 75% of the time,
flat or down from 8/15 to 9/15 63% of the time, and
finished the year higher than the 9/15 close 87% of the time.
Additionally, since 1938 there are 14 years in which the market advances >10% through July that are followed by a negative August. They all finish the year higher, with an average rest of year performance of 9.9% (median 8.7%).
This history suggests that the earlier part of September is a stronger time to take profit, or trim/exit any positions, while after the 15th should be favorable to accumulate or start new positions.
Sources:
This is a link to ANG Traders, a seeking alpha author that did a study on years 2016 to 2022. His analysis is incredible.
seekingalpha.com
This is a link to Ed Clissolds twitter post with the prior years with S&P advancing >10% through July.
twitter.com
This is a link to the seasonality chart created by EW_T. These seasonality charts have a bar that represents % of the month in positive territory and a number at the bottom that is the average gain/loss.
www.tradingview.com
Seasonality-trading
URA vs. U308 Futures ~ Snapshot TA / Uranium Bull IndicatorPerformance comparison between Global X Uranium ETF versus U308 Futures.
One of many Momentum Indicators out there that track Bullish movements in Uranium Sector.
Uranium stocks haven't always been closely-correlated to Futures due to their "risk-on" nature...so when stocks start outperforming when Futures + other confluences are also rallying..
You might have a good ol' fashion Uranium Bull run on your hands.
Boost/Follow appreciated, cheers.
Futures: COMEX:UX1! COMEX:UX2!
ASX ETFs: ASX:ATOM ASX:URNM
US/OTC ETFs: OTC:SRUUF AMEX:URA NASDAQ:URNJ AMEX:URNM
Iron Ore Futures ~ Snapshot TA / Coiling like a Steel RollIron Ore Futures coiling like a steel roll in a series of Lower Highs & Higher Lows since October 2022.
Break above 116.60 = Bullish momentum towards 134.85 (38.2% Fib Retracement)
Break below 99.40 = Bearish momentum towards 77.60 (78.6% Fib Extension)
Seasonality typically favours the Bulls running strong into end of year - we'll see if it still rings true this year, given China's current economic woes..
Boost/Follow appreciated.
Futures: SGX:FEF1! SGX:FEF2! COMEX:TIO1! COMEX:TIO2!
ASX: ASX:BHP ASX:RIO ASX:FMG ASX:MIN ASX:CIA
NYSE: NYSE:VALE
S&P 500 Head & Shoulders on the DailyThe SPY (S&P 500 Index) resembles a quite clear Head & Shoulders Pattern which is generally bearish. The daily candle chart shows a right shoulder forming with a rejection from the $445 area. With this rejection and a continuation downwards, we could see a harder fall if this aligns with the left shoulder and follows the pattern.
The other main indices also follow a similar pattern formation and could follow with a market downturn. Watching that $445 level is key to see a confirmation retest and rejection downwards. Following the lower levels, some price targets would first be the neckline as shown on the chart posted. A break below the neckline could result in a fall of the S&P 500 and if following the complete Head & Shoulders we could be seeing a realistic price target of the $410-$420 area.
Other than technicals fundamentals are definitely quite alright for the market as of now. But maybe a little too alright in my opinion. We have seen a market melt up with interest rates still sky-high resulting in more risk-ON investing rather than investing in CD's or Treasuries offering up to 5.5%.
The Greed being shown in this market is definitely visible and is something to keep note of if we break the neckline. Fear & Panic Selling could most definitely occur in this type of situation especially considering the market rally we've seen this summer.
Seasonally the fall has been quite bearish for the markets overall, and as we head into September & October we could see a similar trend to the past, but nothing is sure.
Lastly, in September / October Student Loan Repayments are resuming which could suck out millions if not billions of dollars from the United States economy as young adults chip away at debt and sacrifice spending on goods & services. This will most definitely be a crucial effect on the economy and could send markets downwards.
Keep an eye out for this pattern to play out... Definitely something to watch as we move in to Fall!
Thanks
Natural Gas from Pipelines to PortfoliosNatural gas was once considered a byproduct of oil production. It is now becoming increasingly important as one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels and a key piece of the clean energy transition. Today, it forms the backbone of global energy production.
This paper delves into the supply and demand factors affecting natural gas prices and proposes a long position in Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures (NG1!) to harness gains from seasonal price trends with an entry of 2.484 with a target of 3.099 and a stop loss at 2.172 delivering risk/reward ratio of 2x.
Natural Gas Supply and Demand
Supply
Largest producers and exporters of Natural Gas are US, Russia, Iran, China, Canada, Qatar, Australia, Norway, and Saudi Arabia.
The standout in the list is Russia. Following the conflict in Ukraine, gas exports from Russia plummeted 58% in 2022. This led to price shocks in EU natural gas (TTF). US supply is unable to adequately bridge this deficit as transporting natural gas using ships requires converting it to Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and using special refrigerated vessels which is not economical for large quantities of natural gas.
This is also why the spread between EU and US natural gas is much wider than EU and US oil.
Notably, US shale reserves have a high concentration of natural gas. Along with newly developed fracking techniques, this has led to increasing gas production in the US. Moreover, natural gas is also obtained in the process of oil extraction, which means gas production is linked to oil production.
This has interesting ramifications when looking at present supply. Despite low natural gas prices over the past few months, production in the US has remained high as a result of high oil production. Similarly, higher prices do not readily translate to higher production. This suggests that Natural Gas price-supply relationship is inelastic.
Demand
Demand for Natural Gas comes from:
• Energy Production – Natural Gas is used in power plants to generate electricity. Natural Gas electricity production has been rising over the last decade as it replaces Coal. Notably, manufacturers using natural gas as an energy source can switch to other energy sources during price spike, which provides some elasticity to demand.
• Commercial and Residential Heating – Natural Gas is used for heating homes in winter. This can lead to a seasonal demand during winter months in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Industrial Use – Natural Gas is used as a raw material for industrial products such as plastics, ammonia, and methanol.
Natural gas demand is heavily affected by weather. Unusually warm summers in the Northern Hemisphere drive higher energy usage from air conditioners while colder winters drive higher demand for heating.
Inventories
Gas can be injected into storage facilities and stored for later use. These inventory levels play a major role in balancing supply-demand. Summer months (April-October) are referred to as injection periods while winter months (November-March) are withdrawal periods. Inventory levels help even out the surge in winter demand.
However, natural gas is much harder to store than oil as it is less dense. This means the inventory effect is not as apparent which explains the larger seasonal variation in natural gas prices as compared to oil prices.
Seasonality in Natural Gas Prices
Seasonal price action of Natural Gas shows two distinct price rallies. A large rally during winter in the US and EU driven by surge in supply for heating in winters, during this period, prices peak in early-December before declining. The other, smaller spike is during summers in the US and EU when demand for electricity rises, during this period, prices peak in early-June before declining.
Further, prices show the highest deviation from the seasonal trend in late-September.
Over the past five years, the winter rally has become wider, with prices staying elevated from August to early-December.
Additionally, seasonal trend points to a price appreciation of +11% between September and December.
However, investors should note that past seasonal trends are not representative of current or future market performance.
Henry Hub Futures
Henry Hub is the most prominent gas trading hub in the world. It is located at the intersection of major on-shore and off-shore production regions and connected by an extensive pipeline network. This is also where US natural gas exports are dispatched.
CME’s benchmark Natural Gas futures (NG) deliver to Henry Hub and is the largest gas futures contract in the world. Other notable Natural Gas futures contracts are TTF (EU) and JKM (Asia). Futures from both regions are also available for trading on CME.
Asset Managers are Bullish
Commercial traders are heavily net short on Natural Gas futures, short positioning in July was at its highest level since 2021 but has since reduced. Overall, net short commercial positioning points to bullish sentiment.
Asset managers have switched positioning in Natural Gas futures from net short to net long since May. Last week net long positioning reached its highest level since May 2022.
Options markets OI points to a neutral market view on natural gas with Put/Call ratio close to 1. Options P/C has stayed close to 1 for the past 3 months.
At the same time, Implied Volatility on Natural Gas options has been rising in August. A rally last week failed to break past a key support level but vols remain elevated suggesting that price may retest that level again.
Henry Hub Gas Dynamics with European Gas
Last week, EU Natural Gas futures (TTF1!) spiked by almost 28% due to a strike at Australia’s second largest LNG plant, still the rally soon retraced almost entirely.
LNG supply disruption, especially at the key transition to the winter season can lead to volatility spikes. Though, EU gas inventories are 90% full, supply disruptions like this can still have a major effect on gas prices but especially on volatility.
Over the past few years, higher flexibility and capacity in the global LNG supply chain has led to the various global natural gas benchmarks tracking each other more closely. This means that Henry Hub natural gas futures are exposed not just to US and Canada Natural Gas production but also to disruptions in global supply.
However, the effect is comparatively limited due to ample supply in the US. This can be seen in the price action of Henry Hub natural gas futures which rose by 6% on the same day.
Recent Trend in Natural Gas Inventories
As per the EIA, Natural Gas supply fell 0.1% WoW last week. At the same time demand rose by 0.3% WoW. Note that working natural gas in underground storage has started to flatten over the past 4 weeks, rising by just 94 billion cubic feet (BCf) compared to the 5Y average increase of 140 BCf during the same period.
Still, inventory levels are close to the top of their 5-year maximum, elevated by high US gas production during the summer driven by higher oil production. EIA forecasts that the depletion season will end with inventories 7% higher than their 5-year average.
EIA expects production to remain flat for the remainder of the year, so watching weekly consumption reports could point to early indicators of seasonal inventory depletion. However, due to elevated inventory levels, the seasonal effect may not be as strong as prior years.
In a longer-term trend, gas rigs in the US have started to decline this year after surging over the past year. This will likely lead to lower production over the next year.
Trade Setup
With options markets pointing bullish and seasonal trends suggesting price appreciation during this period, a long position in Natural Gas futures expiring in October (NGV) allows investors to benefit from an increase in Natural Gas prices.
Each contract of CME Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures provide exposure to 10,000 MMBtu of Natural Gas while the October contract has maintenance margin of USD 5,070 for a long position. A USD 0.001 MMBtu change in quoted price per MMBtu leads to a PnL change of USD 10 in one Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures.
Entry: 2.484
Target: 3.099
Stop Loss: 2.172
Profit at Target: USD 6,150
Loss at Stop: USD 3,120
Reward/Risk: 2x
MARKET DATA
CME Real-time Market Data helps identify trading set-ups and express market views better. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
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AU200 Short-Med Term OutlookAnticipating short-term bounce to fill gaps, re-test 23.6% Fib zone & create opportunities for Short positions.
Selling 'should' re-commence in September to test lower range re: parallel channel, in-line with Market Seasonality.
Over-extension into Golden Fib Range could signal warning of more extreme market capitulation (~6400).
Depends on break-outs either side of current indecision candle/price action, TBC.
SOYB- the soybean ETF moves on buying pressure LONGOn the 4H Chart, SOYB has moved above both tthe near and intermediate term POC lines
of the respective volume profiles. Upward price volatility above the running mean
on the relative volatility indicator. In confluence pric emoved above the mean basis
band of the double Bollinger band. Fundamentally, supply-demand imbalances including
the collapse of the Black Sea shipping deal as bad actor Russia continues to inflict chaos
has a ripple effect throughout agricultural commodity markets. Soybean prices are
not following the chaos and volatility of the general markets like AMEX and NASDAQ but rather
they follow the beat of their own drum like seasonality crop yields shipping costs and
others. This make an alternative to avoid going heavy into topping or sinking general
markets. They allow diversification not unlike adding bonds to a portfolio when trying
to weather the storm. Given the narrow trading range I will play this with some call options
If you would like my idea of an excellent call option trade please leave a comment.
See also my ideas on WEAT and CORN.
se to expire after the harvest and into the planting in in Brazil.
GBPUSD - for the month of AUGUSTGet Ready for pound to take a shit throughout AUGUST...
The Launch happened today........
The sentiment is mixed, but the commercials are loading up according to latest COT report,
Also if you have a look at Seasonality AUGUST historically is the worst month for anything against the dollar...
Ethereum -> Now Breaking The $2000 LevelHello Traders and Investors ,
my name is Philip and today I will provide a free and educational multi-timeframe technical analysis of Ethereum 💪
If we are looking at the macro view on the monthly timeframe you can see that Ethereum perfectly retested the 0.768 fibonacci level in confluence with the previous cycle high so there is a chance that from here we will start the next crypto bullrun.
Looking at the weekly timeframe you can see that Ethrereum is slowly channeling higher and in confluence with the bullish moving averages I simply do expect more bullish pressure.
Exactly 3 days ago Ethereum perfectly broke daily resistance towards the upside which is now of course turned support so with the current retest of the $1940 level we could see another rejection higher.
Keep in mind: Don't get caught up in short term moves and always look at the long term picture; building wealth is a marathon and not a quick sprint 📈
Thank you for watching and I will see you tomorrow!
My previous analysis of this asset:
$WTER [2h] Dry summer we all need good water!NASDAQ:WTER graph turn on green, recently signed many distributorship agreement with national market chain etc. and good time (summer for water) also can expect good revenue, let see...
Invest smartly, timely and wisely!
NZDJPY to 0.89 - or overextended?Hey Traders! 👋
For Day 34/100 of our challenge, we will look at a data-backed NZDJPY long idea
Technicals:
- Overall bullish
- Made a high at 88.50
- Expecting retracement to 87.60
- Target at 89
- If 86.80 is breached, idea is invalid
Other data:
⬆️ Seasonality is still bullish expecting 90 level
⬆️ Pattern scan is also bullish expecting 90 before deeper retracement
⬆️ Supertrend is also bullish
⬆️ Retail traders have extreme short positions which we would want to go against
🤔 What's your take?
Like and follow for daily high-quality trade ideas!
LONG run in Adidas📈I've placed a limit buy in this market because:
the long-term descending trendline was been broken
we have a bullish seasonality for Adidas
the price has broken above the 30's SMA
the price has broken above the prior swing high
the price has formed now a sequence of higher highs and higher lows (= bullish trend)
My 2 cents on eBay It's technically a quite bullish chart. The price has established an higher low, has broken above the 30's SMA and has broken the descending trendline, re-tested it and now it seems like we're in the game. ;)
Furthermore there is a bullish seasonality playing out ATM. So I put on my horns in this case ...