What Does Silver's Volatility Mean For the Markets?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models 

We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.

The Trend Asset Allocation Model is an asset allocation model that applies trend-following principles based on the inputs of global stock and commodity prices. This model has a shorter time horizon and tends to turn over about 4-6 times a year. The performance and full details of a model portfolio based on the out-of-sample signals of the Trend Model can be found here.

 

My inner trader uses a trading model, which is a blend of price momentum (is the Trend Model becoming more bullish, or bearish?) and overbought/oversold extremes (don't buy if the trend is overbought, and vice versa). As this site is shutting down on March 31, 2026, my inner trader is retiring so that there will be no tradings outstanding at the end of the quarter. The hypothetical trading record of the trading model of the real-time alerts that began in March 2016 to 16-Jan-2026 is shown below, and the chart will no longer be updated.

 

 

The latest signals of each model are as follows:

• Ultimate market timing model: Buy equities (Last changed from “sell” on 28-Jul-2023)*
• Trend Model signal: Bullish (Last changed from “bearish” on 27-Jun-2025)*

* The performance chart and model readings have been delayed by a week out of respect to our paying subscribers.

Update schedule: I generally update model readings on my site on weekends. I am also on X/Twitter at @humblestudent and on BlueSky at @humblestudent.bsky.social. Subscribers receive real-time alerts of trading model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of those email alerts is shown here.

Subscribers can access the latest signal in real time here.

 

Parabolic Silver

How should investors interpret the parabolic rise in silver prices? The silver ETF has been rising on surging volume. Silver has also outperformed gold handily since mid-November as the silver/gold ratio has also went parabolic. However, Friday’s island reversal pattern is silver (and gold) is concerning for precious metal bulls.

 
The key question for investors is, “What does this mean for asset returns from an inter-market analytical perspective?”

The full post can be found here.

The Market Cycle Puzzle

Preface: Explaining our market timing models 

We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.

The Trend Asset Allocation Model is an asset allocation model that applies trend-following principles based on the inputs of global stock and commodity prices. This model has a shorter time horizon and tends to turn over about 4-6 times a year. The performance and full details of a model portfolio based on the out-of-sample signals of the Trend Model can be found here.

  

My inner trader uses a trading model, which is a blend of price momentum (is the Trend Model becoming more bullish, or bearish?) and overbought/oversold extremes (don't buy if the trend is overbought, and vice versa). Subscribers receive real-time alerts of model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of the email alerts is updated weekly here. The hypothetical trading record of the trading model of the real-time alerts that began in March 2016 is shown below. 

 

The latest signals of each model are as follows:

• Ultimate market timing model: Buy equities (Last changed from “sell” on 28-Jul-2023)*
• Trend Model signal: Bullish (Last changed from “bearish” on 27-Jun-2025)*
• Trading model: Neutral (Last changed from “bullish” on 26-Nov-2025)*

* The performance chart and model readings have been delayed by a week out of respect to our paying subscribers.

Update schedule: I generally update model readings on my site on weekends. I am also on X/Twitter at @humblestudent and on BlueSky at @humblestudent.bsky.social. Subscribers receive real-time alerts of trading model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of those email alerts is shown here.

Subscribers can access the latest signal in real time here.

 

Divergent Market Cycles 

Two weekI highlighted the relative breakouts of gold prices compared to the S&P 500 and the 60/40 portfolio and argued that the breakouts represented a transition of paper to hard asset leadership. However, the last time the gold/paper asset cycle turned, it coincided with a bottoming in other market leadership factors, namely value/growth, small cap/large cap and international/U.S. stocks. This time, the turn in factor leadership isn’t evident. 

 

What are the investment implications of the continuing divergence? Changes in market leadership often occur when a market transitions from bull to bear. Does this mean that the bull is still alive and how should investors position their portfolio allocation?

The full post can be found here.

Making Sense of the Gold Price Retreat

I received considerable feedback to last week’s publication, Ready for the Contrarian Gold Trade? I suggested that while gold remains in a long-term bull market as the market is transitioning to a hard asset cycle, gold prices are due for a multi-month period of consolidation and pullback much like the 2004–2006 episode.

Further discussions with readers prompted us to offer an alternative scenario of a shorter corrective period. Investors may not have to wait 1–2 years before the resumption of a gold bull.

The full post can be found here.

Ready for the Contrarian Gold Trade?

I have been a gold bull for quite some time. I highlighted its bullish potential in early 2024 when it staged an upside breakout to an all-time high at 2100. Last November, I reiterated my bullish view with the publication, 2025 High Conviction Idea: Gold. Since then, gold prices have gone parabolic and soared to new highs in all major currencies, including the Swiss Franc, which is considered to be a “hard currency”.

 
It may be time for a pause. If you are ready to be a contrarian on gold, the tactical contrarian trade here would be to sell gold and buy bonds.

The full post can be found here.

The golden question: Buy or sell the rate cut?

Mid-week market update: Scheduling notice - I will be traveling for the next 10 days. Barring wild market volatility next week, there will be no mid-week market update next Wednesday, but regular commentaries will be published each weekend.

 

It's always tricky to write a market commentary on the day of the FOMC meeting, as price moves can be quickly reversed the next day. Coming into the meeting, the market was expecting a quarter-point rate cut, and there were even whispers of a jumbo half-point cut.

 

A useful barometer of Fed policy from a cross-asset perspective is gold. Gold recent staged an upside breakout to an all-time high. While it's sensitive to many factors, such as unexpected inflation and geopolitical risk, it's also sensitive to changes in real interest rates.

 

 

The full post can be found here.

An Update on Gold: Time for a Pause?

I have been bullish on gold for several months (see 2025 High Conviction Idea: Gold). Since that report was published, gold prices have risen over 25% in USD. More recently, it violated its rising trend line in all major currencies except the Japanese yen, which may be a technical warning of a tiring bull. Is it time to take profits in the gold bull trade?

 

The full post can be found here.

 

 

Special announcement: Humble Student of the Markets will cease publication on March 31, 2026. See this announcement for more details and updates.  

Sell America = Buy Gold

I am reiterating my bullish view on gold. Gold staged an upside breakout through a cup-and-handle pattern at 2100 in early 2024 and hasn’t looked back since. Moreover, it has staged upside relative breakouts against both the S&P 500 and a 60/40 proxy and it has stayed above the relative breakout levels even after the recent pullback. The technical pattern of multi-year bases and subsequent absolute and relative breakouts is highly reminiscent of the pattern experienced by gold at the start of the 21st Century, which took the yellow metal from its breakout at 500 in 2004 to significant higher prices.
 

I believe this is just the start of a secular bull cycle for gold prices, based on a secular Sell America investment cycle.
 

The full post can be found here.

 

Special announcement: Humble Student of the Markets will cease publication on March 31, 2026. See this announcement for more details and updates.  

The message from gold's generational breakout

Preface: Explaining our market timing models 

We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.

The Trend Asset Allocation Model is an asset allocation model that applies trend-following principles based on the inputs of global stock and commodity prices. This model has a shorter time horizon and tends to turn over about 4-6 times a year. The performance and full details of a model portfolio based on the out-of-sample signals of the Trend Model can be found here.

 

 

My inner trader uses a trading model, which is a blend of price momentum (is the Trend Model becoming more bullish, or bearish?) and overbought/oversold extremes (don't buy if the trend is overbought, and vice versa). Subscribers receive real-time alerts of model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of the email alerts is updated weekly here. The hypothetical trading record of the trading model of the real-time alerts that began in March 2016 is shown below.

  

The latest signals of each model are as follows:

• Ultimate market timing model: Buy equities (Last changed from “sell” on 28-Jul-2023)*
• Trend Model signal: Neutral (Last changed from “bullish” on 15-Nov-2024)*
• Trading model: Bullish (Last changed from “neutral” on 28-Feb-2025)*

* The performance chart and model readings have been delayed by a week out of respect to our paying subscribers.

Update schedule: I generally update model readings on my site on weekends. I am also on X/Twitter at @humblestudent and on BlueSky at @humblestudent.bsky.social. Subscribers receive real-time alerts of trading model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of those email alerts is shown here.

Subscribers can access the latest signal in real time here.

A Generational Breakout

In case you missed it, the price of gold staged a generational upside breakout relative to both the S&P 500 and the 60/40 balanced fund, as measured by Vanguard’s VBINX (bottom two panels). On an absolute perspective, gold already broke out of a cup and handle pattern at 2100, indicating significant upsid0e potential. From a cross-asset perspective, past breakouts have coincided with periods of severe financial stress.

 The full post can be found here.

A golden opportunity

Gold has caught a bid against a backdrop of trade war fears. On the other hand, gold ETF AUM are skyrocketing, which is contrarian bearish.

 

 Should you jump on the gold momentum train, or fade its rally?

 

 The full post can be found here.

What the surge in gold tells us about the stock market

Even though it’s still early in the year, my bullish call on gold has worked out well (see 2025 High Conviction Idea: Gold). Gold has reached an all-time high in all currencies. In particular, it broke out to a new high in the Swiss Franc (CHF), which is regarded as a hard currency, and the Chinese Yuan (CNY), which is reflective of Chinese demand.

 
Beyond the bullish outlook on the yellow metal, here are the asset return implications.

 

The full post can be found here.

2025 high conviction idea: Gold

Preface: Explaining our market timing models 

We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.

The Trend Asset Allocation Model is an asset allocation model that applies trend-following principles based on the inputs of global stock and commodity prices. This model has a shorter time horizon and tends to turn over about 4-6 times a year. The performance and full details of a model portfolio based on the out-of-sample signals of the Trend Model can be found here.

 

My inner trader uses a trading model, which is a blend of price momentum (is the Trend Model becoming more bullish, or bearish?) and overbought/oversold extremes (don't buy if the trend is overbought, and vice versa). Subscribers receive real-time alerts of model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of the email alerts is updated weekly here. The hypothetical trading record of the trading model of the real-time alerts that began in March 2016 is shown below.

 

The latest signals of each model are as follows:

• Ultimate market timing model: Buy equities (Last changed from “sell” on 28-Jul-2023)*
• Trend Model signal: Bullish (Last changed from “neutral” on 11-Oct-2024)*
• Trading model: Bullish (Last changed from “neutral” on 15-Oct-2024)*

* The performance chart and model readings have been delayed by a week out of respect to our paying subscribers.

Update schedule: I generally update model readings on my site on weekends. I am also on X/Twitter at @humblestudent and on BlueSky at @humblestudent.bsky.social. Subscribers receive real-time alerts of trading model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of those email alerts is shown here.

Subscribers can access the latest signal in real time here.

Why gold will beat stocks

Looking ahead to 2025, I am reiterating my bullish call on gold from a long-term viewpoint. The recent pullback represents a buying opportunity in the metal from an asset allocation perspective.

Going back to 1980, we can see several distinct gold bull-bear cycles. Gold topped out at 850 in early 1980 and began a bear market that bottomed in 1985. It traded sideways and made a second bottom in 1999 and broke out to new recovery highs in 2004 and topped in 2011. It subsequently broke out again at 2,100 in early 2024. More importantly, it is tracing out saucer-shaped multi-year bases against different regional equity indices. The gold/Dow ratio is the weakest owing to the strength of U.S. stocks, but it is nevertheless distinctive. The Gold/EAFE ratio (all ratios are in USD) is about to stage a relative breakout, and the gold/EM ratio has marginally broken out of a 12-year base.

These technical patterns argue for a bullish commitment to gold for 2025 and beyond for all investors in all major currencies from an asset allocation perspective.

 The full post can be found here.

The slow march to fiscal dominance

Mario Draghi is known as the ECB President who said that he would do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. Now, his report on European Union competitiveness is designed to save the EU, and it’s caused quite a stir. Draghi identified the issues of EU competitiveness as poor productivity, caused by fragmentation of industrial policy along national lines, and a lack of co-ordination and focus across policy lines, such as fiscal, trade and foreign policies. 

As a solution, Draghi is calling for a re-focus of industrial policy and a minimum annual investment of “€750 to €800 billion…based on the latest Commission estimates, corresponding to 4.4-4.7% of EU GDP in 2023. For comparison, investment under the Marshall Plan between 1948–51 was equivalent to 1–2% of EU GDP”. The investment would have to be financed mainly by euro area debt.

 

If implemented, the Draghi Plan will put the eurozone on the road to fiscal dominance. Currently, euro area debt averages 88.6% of GDP, which is just short of the 90% guideline specified by Reinhart & Rogoff when a sovereign becomes at risk of significant and prolonged reductions in economic growth. By comparison, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio stands at 121%. However, eurozone countries have arguably less fiscal room as member states can’t print their own currency and must rely on the European Central Bank.

This will cement developed economies’ path to fiscal dominance. Investors will need to prepare accordingly.

 

The full post can be found here.

Gold: Fakeout or generational buying opportunity?

I highlighted the accompanying chart before. Gold staged an upside breakout at 2100 out of a cup and handle pattern. It recently rose above 2500 to an all-time high. In addition, the cup and handle breakout of 2024 is highly reminiscent of a similar breakout in 2005. Not only did the gold price stage upside breakouts, but also the gold/S&P 500 ratio made a rounded saucer shaped bottom (bottom panel) that resolved in over a decade of positive relative performance.

In December 2023, I studied the factors driving gold strength and concluded that they “should be bullish for the price of risky assets” (see The Market Meaning of a Gold Breakout). In June 2024, I focused on the inflationary pressures behind fiscal dominance and looked forward to the November election. I concluded that gold prices should benefit regardless of who wins the White House, but a Trump win would be especially inflationary (see Why the November Election Matters to Gold).

Now that gold has reached another all-time high at 2500, will history repeat itself? Is this another generational buying opportunity or a bull trap fakeout?
 

The full post can be found here.

Why the November election matters to gold

I am reiterating my bullish outlook on gold. The yellow metal staged an upside breakout from a cup and handle pattern in March. As well, the long-term inflation expectations of ETF (RINF) has been in a steady uptrend. The only question is how far and how fast can gold run?

The future may be bright as gold prices respond to unexpected inflation. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated its projection of the U.S. fiscal path by raising its FY 2024 estimate of the deficit from $1.5 trillion to $1.9 trillion, driven by emergency spending on foreign assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as student loan relief. The long-term picture also deteriorated, the deficit rises to $2.8 trillion by 2034 and debt is expected to grow to 122% of GDP by 2034. 

 

For investors, much of its intermediate-term outlook depends on the outcome of the U.S. November elections and the trajectory of White House policies.

The full post can be found here.

The market gods present patient investors with three gifts

Remember that equity investors tend to enjoy strong returns in the absence of recession, which dents returns, or war and revolution, which can result in a permanent loss of capital. With those caveats in mind, the market gods are presenting patient investors with three gifts from the three economic blocs in the world: the U.S., Europe, and China.

 The full post can be found here.

The investor's cyclical mystery

Copper is a cyclically sensitive metal that was given the moniker of Dr. Copper, because it is said to have a Ph.D. in economics because of its ability to forecast global economic trends. Its recent breakout from a 10-month base excited a lot of people. Similarly, the turnaround in the relative performance of materials stocks was interpreted as a cyclical green shoot.

On the other hand, the sideways pattern of the copper/gold ratio gave a different message of economic stagnation. Both copper and gold are metals with inflation hedge properties, but copper is more cyclically sensitive. The copper/gold ratio acts as a cyclical indicator to filter out the inflation sensitivity of changes in metal prices.

Therein lies the mystery. Are the markets signaling a cyclical rebound, or not? 

The full post can be found here.

The stealth breakout you may have missed

Preface: Explaining our market timing models 

We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.

The Trend Asset Allocation Model is an asset allocation model that applies trend-following principles based on the inputs of global stock and commodity prices. This model has a shorter time horizon and tends to turn over about 4-6 times a year. The performance and full details of a model portfolio based on the out-of-sample signals of the Trend Model can be found here.

My inner trader uses a trading model, which is a blend of price momentum (is the Trend Model becoming more bullish, or bearish?) and overbought/oversold extremes (don't buy if the trend is overbought, and vice versa). Subscribers receive real-time alerts of model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of the email alerts is updated weekly here. The hypothetical trading record of the trading model of the real-time alerts that began in March 2016 is shown below.

The latest signals of each model are as follows:

• Ultimate market timing model: Buy equities (Last changed from “sell” on 28-Jul-2023)*
• Trend Model signal: Bullish (Last changed from “neutral” on 28-Jul-2023)*
• Trading model: Neutral (Last changed from “bullish” on 24-Jan-2024)*

* The performance chart and model readings have been delayed by a week out of respect to our paying subscribers.

Update schedule: I generally update model readings on my site on weekends. I am also on X/Twitter at @humblestudent. Subscribers receive real-time alerts of trading model changes, and a hypothetical trading record of those email alerts is shown here.

Subscribers can access the latest signal in real time here.

 

A convincing breakout at 2100

My recent publication highlighting the opportunity in gold mining stocks worked out better than expected (see How gold miners could be a refuge from the YOLO and FOMO frenzy). The gold miners’ ETF (GDX) is up slightly over 10% in under two weeks.

While GDX may be a little extended in the short run, I would like to point out the long-term potential in gold. Gold has staged a convincing upside breakout from a multi-month cup and handle formation. Moreover, the gold-to-S&P 500 ratio (bottom panel) is turning up from a multi-year saucer-shaped bottom, indicating the possible start of a new relative bull for gold over stocks. As well, the breakout has occurred with little fanfare as investors have been focused on AI and GLP-1 plays. This combination of breakout and lack of public participation suggests a substantial upside potential.

 

 The full post can be found here.

How gold miners could be a refuge from the YOLO and FOMO frenzy

I wrote yesterday that the stock market has been gripped by a YOLO (You Only Live Once) and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) madness. I can suggest a possible refuge: gold and gold miners.

Gold prices recently made a fresh high last week, but the breakout was not decisive to be judged as unabashedly bullish for the yellow metal. The technical pattern was nevertheless highly constructive as it’s tracing out a possible cup and handle formation. In addition, the inflation expectations ETF (RINF), which measures 30-year bond market inflation expectations, is upward sloping and confirms gold’s uptrend.

 The full post can be found here.

The market meaning of a gold breakout

Gold bulls became very excited when gold prices tested overhead resistance at the 2000–2100 level. In the past, such tests had been met with selling pressure, but technical analysts would interpret a definitive breakout at these levels as opening the door to significant upside.

Moreover, the bottom panel of the accompanying chart shows that the gold to S&P 500 ratio has been making a multi-year bottom, which argues for the start of a cycle that favours hard assets like gold and commodities over paper assets like stocks and bonds. Before you get too excited, such bottoms can take some time to develop and a hard asset bull market may not appear for several years.

In addition, the long-term bull case for commodities and hard assets is underscored by a regime of chronic underinvestment in capital expenditures in commodity extraction industries.

 

I am no gold bug and I have no strong opinion on the direction for gold prices. I am more interested in the cross-asset implications of this gold rally.

 

The full post can be found here.

What USD weakness may mean for asset returns

An unusual anomaly arose during the latest banking crisis when a long-standing historical relationship broke apart. When bank stocks skidded in response to the problems that first appeared at Silicon Valley Bank, the 2-year Treasury yield fell dramatically, indicating a rush for the safety of Treasury assets. What was unusual this time was the weakness in the USD. The greenback has rallied during past financial scares and crises as investors piled into the safety of the USD and Treasury paper. This time, Treasuries did reflect a flight to safety, but not the USD. As the USD has been inversely correlated to the S&P 500, and the dollar can’t advance even with the macro tailwind of a banking crisis, what does this mean for asset returns?

 

The full post can be found here.