Natural Gas - Set to Fly High with the Dollar?Weekly Long Position on AMEX:BOIL
A new major low was observed in this market on May 30th
The security of interest is $NYMEX:NG1!. Using a leveraged product AMEX:BOIL to gain exposure to a potential short-term movement, as a continuation of a long-term trend. See below the chart of $NYMEX:NG1!.
Commodities, equities, and other assets priced in US Dollars are subject to relative foreign-exchange changes, as realisation of risk is highly complex in globalised markets. The price of NYMEX:NG1! represents some relationship to an almost infinite supply of financial products, as capital moves around the interconnected world.
For example, Iran is not apart of SWIFT and must exchange assets to engage in trade with other nations. Their crude oil is paid for in gold. However the 'zero-risk' benchmark for both these commodity products, NYMEX:CL1! and COMEX:GC1! , are priced in US Dollars. As the relative strength of the US Dollar fluctuates, asset prices too will fluctuate even without alteration to any of the fundamental dynamics of the market in question. Martin Armstrong has established himself the foremost expert on 'Capital Flow Analysis'.
See below the chart of COMEX:GC1! , FX:USDCHF , ECONOMICS:USCPI
Important to note is the lack of direct correlation between Gold priced in US Dollars, and US Dollar domestic inflation (CPI). Contrary to the assertion of many analysts, gold responds directly to sovereign-related risk. The 'relative-value' of gold at the time of each major high reflects price discovery across all asset classes, though we can only view one time-price continuum on a chart.
With that in mind, see below the chart of TVC:DXY and a few commodities.
All these markets demonstrate various correlations to one another, there is a general trend that can be observed. As the capital flows persisting from Feb 2022 onwards reflect a shifting global investment outlook, towards high-quality assets.
Over the course of the last few financial crises, the safe place for capital was US sovereign debt, in the form of Treasuries. As the plumbing of the two-tier global banking system is operated by the US Federal Reserve, highly liquid money markets keep the USD afloat in times of financial stress. However, this has not always been the case. During the Great Depression, the contraction of capital (deflation) was so severe that physical, paper US Dollars were the global asset of choice for security. Capital formation could continue once the price of gold was un-pegged from the dollar, to properly reflect price discovery in the newly minted global economy.
Energy markets have become particularly chaotic over the last 16 months, as Russia plays an important role, particularly in Europe where a network of pipelines has become a security issue. Heavy sanctions have been placed on Russia, as well as an outright ban of a large quantity of its exports. Russia, having control over Ukraine's direct access to the ocean, has returned the favour. Resulting in a disruption in markets from wheat, and lumber, to gold and neon. With the Nordstream projects in critical condition, Europe's energy fragility should be of great concern, both domestically and to its allies.
Among the sanctions, is a 'price cap' on the price of crude oil for export at $60/barrel. See chart of NYMEX light crude, and European brent crude.
For those not aware, these represent relatively "raw" product exchanged on global markets. Crude must be refined to produce products like gasoline, diesel, lubricants, etc. As with any attempt to artificially manipulate the price of an asset, this presents arbitrage opportunity. Since December when this was imposed, China and India have reportedly been buying Russian crude, refining and exporting it.
Russia has spent years purging US Dollar exposure from its energy markets, as war in the Middle East has steadily grown tension between the two powers. Foreign exchange markets are very sensitive to volatility, and can respond unpredictably to major shifts in trend. The consequences of capital moving around the globe quickly can be devastating, see FX_IDC:USDRUB , TVC:US10Y , and TVC:MOVE the US bond market volatility index, compared. All markets must respond to price action, as real risk remains deeply concealed.
All while this is going on, global shipping has become significantly more expensive. Meaning the logistical element of global energy markets has become very convoluted. From cheap oil sitting on tankers, to arbitrage of diesel products, to ships transferring oil between one another to conceal Russian oil, to leveraged oil ETFs, the dynamics of NYMEX:CL1! have become almost unfathomably complicated.
So to return to NYMEX:NG1! , the value of this product lies in simplicity. The current price can only be assumed to properly reflect global monetary conditions, as a dramatic correction can be observed. The art of business, is buying what nobody wants and selling it when everyone wants it. So much focus in finance at the moment is pointed towards the Federal Reserve and its attempted manipulations of the interest rate on US Dollars. Why this is taking place however, is a subject that has avoided capturing attention.
The Federal Reserve is attempting to combat WAR INFLATION by creating deflation domestically, supported by capital flows from abroad. Flight to quality will take place independent of any institutional power, by offering a higher rate of return on Treasuries the Fed is more likely to be able to reduce its balance sheet, and support NATO's war efforts. In order to pay troops, send equipment offshore and make loans to Ukraine, capital must leave the borders of the United States, to the sum of trillions, creating massive inflation globally.
So to clarify, global capital is fleeing towards the United States. However, the only sources of capital formation in the United States are financialization, and war. Stagflation, thought to be impossible, has returned to the world. As such, equity and asset prices can continue to rise, without actually rising in relative value globally, since the same will occur in the sum of tanks, aircraft, etc, moved around the world. A zero-sum game.
The fact of the matter is that the world is going to need natural gas - and a lot of it at that. The current domestic investment climate can't adequately adjust for this, the dominant psychological trends in markets push capital down paths which are facilitated by political means, for example 'Environmentally Safe Governance'. Exploration of gas reserves and extraction of energy products has become very unpopular in the last decade, to the unfortunate dismay of anyone who hopes to drive car or live in a heated home in the next decade.
Of note, that besides the US and Canada the largest producers and exporters of natural gas are apart of, or close to the influence of BRICS. Any global conflict which takes place, will first manifest itself in global financial markets, and there is lengthy historical precedent for this. Europe, which has its gas supplied from abroad is completely exposed to market energy prices, as well as the logistical risk of actually supplying said gas. A precarious position to be in, as war knocks on their door.
Immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the world saw a vision of the future flicker as gasoline prices skyrocketed. Reality as we know it in the industrialised depends on simple global logistics, and cheap energy prices. Both of these constructs are crumbling very quickly, and cannot be resolved until a settlement is made between Ukraine and Russia. Money printing and sanctions cannot make more natural gas appear, nor get it across the ocean cheaply.
I propose a trade on AMEX:BOIL , to gain exposure to volatility in Natural Gas markets. Lines of support/resistance represent the arbitrary price points I suggest may be relevant, and can be used for entry/exit and position management.
