Copper Continues to Fall as Stocks Continue to Soar

Very strange doings occurring in Doctor Copper when one considers the nearly unstoppable surge higher across the US equity markets. One does not generally see copper parting ways with the broader stock market for long as this key bellwether commodity has an excellent track record at predicting ( or at least confirming ) economic strength, not only domestically these days, but globally, especially in regards to China's economy.

Take a look at the following copper chart and notice the sharp drop on the daily chart. Some of today's gap can be attributed to the fact that the March contract has given way to the May as the most active and that is now being plotted on the continuous contract chart; nonetheless, the technicals remain extremely poor for copper - remarkably so given the euphoria around US equities.

Two things stand out - first, copper is trading BELOW both its 50 day and its 200 day moving averages. That is bearish. Secondly - it is sitting right on top of a series of support zones. It tested the first of these today and managed to stay above that zone, but just barely.

Also notice that the Directional Movement Indicator shows the bears currently in control of this market. Negative Directional Movement Indicator ( Red Line ) remains ABOVE the Positive Directional Movement Indicator ( Blue Line ). Also, the ADX is beginning to undergo a slight upturn. It has not managed to climb above the 25 level, much less the 20 level, but it is rising as the market is moving lower indicating the POSSIBILITY of a trending move lower.

If copper were to break chart support indicated above in conjunction with a rising ADX line, it would tend to bode poorly for the overall commodity sector in general, especially those commodities which tend to be good proxies for overall economic activity such as cotton.

Cotton's chart looks decent for now but if it were to drop below 84 simultaneously with an additional move lower in copper, it would not bode well for commodities in general. Obviously there are going to be exceptions to this depending on the specific demand/supply scenario for each commodity market but I am speaking of the sector in general.

I find it particularly disconcerting to see copper moving lower, even as the US Dollar weakens. That has not been a frequent occurrence.

I will try to get some more up on gold later as time permits along with some analysis of the COT data. this has been a busy week in these markets with lots of strange, wild moves occurring and violent whipsaws at times ( the grains come to mind today). I for one am glad to see February come and go and look forward to March trading. While one has to respect the chart action if they are trading, I personally never feel comfortable putting large positions on in any market unless I can understand what is moving it. Some guys like to buy without asking questions based on the technical pattern ( I will too to a certain extent ) but only the brave ( or reckless ) will pile into a market without knowing what in the world is moving it. Reversals in such market come with little to no notice whatsoever and can punish you severely for being so brash and foolish.