All Star Charts Gold Rush Articles

From the desk of Steve Strazza

Have you ever heard of the Nokkie-Stokkie?

It’s forex trader lingo for the Norwegian Krone/Swedish Krona… and right now this obscure cross is setting up for a classic failed breakdown.

After undercutting key support in early May, it’s snapping back toward this level now. And with each passing day, it’s looking more and more like a bear trap.

We’re not just writing about this unheard-of FX pair to amuse you. Believe it or not, the currency pair carries valuable insights.

It’s one of our most trusted intermarket energy whisperers.

So it's no surprise the scoop-n-score setup in the NOK/SEK looks almost identical to the one in Crude Oil Futures:

Crude is working on its own bear trap — carving out a tactical reversal pattern just below a shelf of former support.

...

We’ve seen this before.

Gold quietly builds momentum, breaks out to new highs, and suddenly the whole world starts paying attention. 

Then Silver wakes up violently. 

And the miners? They go vertical.

This playbook isn’t new. It’s just unfolding again.

Right now, Gold is trading at all-time highs, Silver is coiling under decade-long resistance, and Silver miners are showing early signs of a major trend reversal relative to the underlying commodity.

The stage is set, and the next act could be explosive.

The nuclear energy trade just got a massive jolt of energy.

Last Friday, Uranium stocks exploded higher after President Donald Trump signed executive orders to revitalize U.S. nuclear energy production.

The result? The VanEck Uranium & Nuclear Energy ETF $NLR had its best single-day performance since 2008.

But this move isn’t just about headlines. It's also about the strong fundamentals and technicals behind it.

The AI revolution is massively increasing global power demand, and everyone is turning to nuclear energy to scale their operations.

Top tech firms know this, and they’re investing heavily in small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced nuclear infrastructure to power their data centers and server farms.

Meanwhile, geopolitical instability and the global push for energy security have made Uranium and nuclear development mission-critical for many countries.

That’s the story, and the market’s listening.

The VanEck Uranium & Nuclear Energy ETF holds the best names in the space, from heavyweights like Cameco $CCJ (~7%) and Constellation Energy $CEG (~8.7%) to fast-growing...

During our time in New Orleans at the Portfolio Accelerator event, I brought the Israeli Shekel to the table—and it sparked a really interesting discussion.

We were diving into global risk indicators, and I was showing how the Shekel is an excellent tell for speculative growth stocks and the “ARKKy” trade. 

That’s because Israel’s economy isn’t built on commodities or manufacturing like so many others—it’s built on software, cybersecurity, and innovation.

It’s one of the top technology countries overseas.

So when the Shekel starts breaking out, it’s not just a local FX story—it’s the market telling us there is demand for some of the most risk-on corners of the stock market.

And right now? The Shekel is on the verge of a major breakout. It’s literally happening as I write this.

This isn’t some quirky currency coincidence. Currencies are always whispering—sometimes shouting—about...

I’m watching the sun sink into the gulf of whatever water from my mobile office. 

We’ve done the drive from Key West to Naples a bunch lately and it’s just lovely. 

No major highways. You take a road from the middle of the ocean to another through the middle of the Everglades. 

It is cruising, defined. Florida style. 

You can see both sharks and gators right out your window along the way. 

Anyway, I’ve found that I really enjoy reading and writing from the car. It frees me from my desk-brain. 

I also really enjoy uncorrelated exposure. It frees me from my overweight risk-on equity positioning.

And I don’t mean defensive exposure. 

I’m talking about exposure to things that can move fast and generate alpha in bull cycles but don’t necessarily move with the broader US...

Platinum has been left for dead.

We love it when sentiment for an asset is down in the dumps like it is now!

While Gold and Silver have stolen all the attention lately, Platinum’s been quietly coiling just below the surface, building pressure for what could be its biggest move in decades.

We’re not just seeing a bullish chart setup...

We’re seeing a perfect storm of technicals, fundamentals, and sentiment pointing in the same direction.

The last time Platinum looked like this, it rallied nearly 500% in nine years.

Is history about to rhyme?

Yes, the U.S. had a rough 20-year auction. Yields on the 30-year almost retested their October highs, touching 5.15%. But that’s not the real story.

The real bond crisis is in Japan.

This week, Japan saw its worst 20-year bond auction since 1987. Long-end JGBs—30s and 40s—are ripping to all-time highs. Not because of inflation or growth. Because no one’s buying.

Life insurers, once the backbone of demand, are out. Solvency regulations crushed their appetite. Reinsurers are selling. The market is flooded with supply, and demand is structurally broken.

Now add fiscal stress, political risk, and an election promising tax cuts—and the bond vigilantes are wide awake.

This isn’t a local issue. Goldman says Japan’s long-end move added 80 bps of pressure to global yields. What’s happening in the U.S. isn’t just about the Fed. It’s about Japan breaking.

When the most conservative central bank starts losing control, that’s not background noise. That’s the alarm bell.

Bond dysfunction doesn’t just mean volatility.

It means inflation.

Because when buyers disappear… you print.
And when you print into a supply-constrained world…...

Matt Warder appeared as the featured guest on today's Morning Show on Stock Market TV, which was an extra special treat for commodity junkies like us.

Matt is widely recognized as the best Coal analyst in the world.

He’s in constant contact with top executives in the space and is basically a walking commodity encyclopedia, especially when it comes to Black Diamonds.

We had the pleasure of meeting him in New Orleans for our Portfolio Accelerator event and walked away smarter for it.

So when Steve Strazza asked him what commodity he’s most excited about right now, we were all ears.

His answer? “Titanium.”

No hesitation.

Coming from someone with Matt’s pedigree in the Coal markets, that caught us off guard. 

But after looking at the charts, it makes a lot of sense why he didn't mention Coal.

The Canadian dollar is catching a bid. 

And while the CAD rarely grabs headlines like the euro, pound, or yen, it’s no backbencher—it makes up 9% of the US Dollar Index $DXY, just behind the big three.

It flies under the radar of most investors, and I think that’s a big mistake.

Here’s why.

After years of sliding, the CAD/USD rallied off a major level of support near 0.68—a level that’s marked key turning points in both the currency and Canadian stocks for over a decade.

This bounce looks small now, but it matters.

We’ve talked a lot about how EM currencies tend to drive their respective stock markets. When a “peso” rallies, local equities tend to follow. That effect is stronger in emerging markets because of the heavier reliance on USD funding and the volatility of the currencies there.

Canada, on the other hand, has deep, liquid capital markets, a resource-heavy economy, and two major stock...

What are the biggest mistakes new options traders make? 

Who better to answer that question than the guy who wrote the book. Joe Duarte is the author of Options Trading For Dummies, and he's seen it all. 

I'll be talking with Joe, along with ASC Gold Rush Analyst Jason Perz, to answer that very question. 

Tune in LIVE Thursday, May 22 at 2:30 pm ET.

I can't wait to ask him about: 

• All the classic ways newer or undisciplined options traders blow themselves up.
• Strategies that newbie options traders should use
• What to watch out for when selling premium

The gold bugs are getting louder.

And frankly, they should be. The weight of the evidence is stacking up in their favor.

We’re not just talking about price action here, although that’s been impressive on its own. 

The intermarket relationships and momentum dynamics are all confirming what the charts have been whispering for months.

This is an uptrend. A real one. And it’s just getting started.

Let’s walk through two key charts that tell the story.

The first time I opened a brokerage account, I didn’t know what the hell relative strength was.

I just bought dips.

In 2008…

And like clockwork, the market kept falling... and I lost everything in that little account.

Every damn dollar.

I remember thinking, “How do people actually learn to trade? Is this even possible?” It felt impossible at the time. But deep down, I knew I’d figure it out, I had to.

Fast forward a few years—I'd devoured every book, article, chart, and white paper I could find on relative strength (not to be confused with RSI—different beast).

Relative strength compares an asset’s performance to a broader index. If it drops less or climbs more, it’s showing strength. And strength attracts capital. Leaders lead. That’s the game.

But this flew in the face of everything I was ever taught…

Buy low, sell high... Where does that logic even...