Seasonality Map for Currencies, Stocks, Bonds & Commodities

This heat map shows the average historical % change in price each month over the last 20 years. 

(Percentages updated for 2023).

Reference:

Markets Made Clear.

See also:
Equity Clock.
Seasonal Charts.

Insider Week.

Moore Research Center.

 

Critical Degrees and Change of Trend | George Bayer (1937)

Source:
Detecting the Change of Trend by Means of Critical Degrees. In:
George Bayer (1937): Time Factors in the Stock Market; Carmel, California; pp. 69-72. 

S&P 500 Index vs George Bayer’s Critical Degrees of Mars
@ 0° @ 5° @ 17° @ 25° of each Zodiac Sign | April 17 (Tue) High ?
Enlarge

Astro Cycles and Speculative Markets | Luther James Jensen (1935 + 1978)

Luther James Jensen was born in 1900 and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he graduated in 1922. He entered the financial sector in New York, and worked for George E. Liggett and Associates until around 1930. Jensen then moved to Kansas, where he opened the Kansas City Bureau of Economic Research in 1931 which was his business for over 25 years. For the Roosevelt-administration he authored economic forecasts (e.g. Major Trends in American Economics from 1492 to 1950: An Analysis and a Forecast), but also wrote on war and peace cycles, radio communication technology or migratory locusts (The Locust Years After 1940). During the same period one of his major private clients became W.D. Gann. Though apparently Jensen himself was never an active trader, already in 1935 he published a booklet called Astro-economic Interpretation: A Mundane Astrology Notebook; Fundamentals of Economic Forecasting which primarily relied upon transiting aspects and horoscopes of companies. Today this very dense book is considered one of the bona fide classics and finest "How-To" guidelines on financial astrology ever written. Throughout the 1940s Jensen wrote the astro-financial column Market Perspective, which was published in the American Astrology magazine.

Soon after W.D. Gann died in 1955, Jensen closed down his Kansas City Bureau of Economic Research to work for B.C. Christopher and Co. in New York from 1957 until his retirement in 1971. Then, in 1978 at the age of 77, Jensen summarized his life's work in a new, updated and expanded edition of Astro Cycles and Speculative Markets. Over 50 years of study, research, and actual application of his concepts in the stock and commodity markets have proven Jensen to be one of the great astro-economic analysts of all time. Jensen took an approach that used standard aspect qualities (trines favourable, squares negative, etc.) and standard planet qualities such as Jupiter increasing prices, Saturn depressing prices. One of the problems with much of this early work is that it gives astrological indicators but provides little verification. In 1981 L.J. Jensen passed away in Shawnee, Kansas. Hard- and e-copies of his Astro Cycles and Speculative Markets are still available today, and his methods applied by some of the most successful private traders and large companies around the globe. The following is Jensen's introduction to financial astrology:

Equities Expensive and Commodities Cheap?

Incrementum AG (Jun 1, 2017) - In a historical context, the relative valuation of commodities to equities seems extremely low. In relation to the S&P500, the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) is currently trading at the lowest level in 50 years. 

The chart outlines the valuation of the GSCI relative to the S&P500. The GSCI comprises 24 commodities from all commodity sectors and serves as a benchmark for investment in the commodity markets and as a measure of commodity performance over time. If the ratio is low (green circles), it means that commodities are cheap relative to shares. If the ratio is at a high level (red circles), like during the Gulf Crisis in 1990, the prices of raw materials are relatively expensive.

The current ratio is 0.87 while the median is at 4.1. A return to the median gives 371% potential, but in most cases a rally doesn't stop at the median. In absolute terms, the scene seems set for a new bull market for commodities. According to Ned Davis Research, commodities gained 217% on average over the period of a bull market. 

German DAX: Gloom, Boom and Doom | Cyclic Vibrations

Ahmed Farghaly (Oct 02, 2016) - There is no question in most commentator's minds that the growth in Germany has certainly slowed relative to what this great country has enjoyed in the 20th century […] The reason for my post about Germany is because the first domino to fall in the upcoming financial calamity seems to be Deutsche Bank […] The upcoming calamity is not going to be like 2008 which was merely a correction of the 18 year cycle. The decline is likely […] of the 324 year cycle and will make 2008 seem like a tiny little hick up within the unraveling of a much larger cycle correction.

[…] The German DAX is likely to not only decline but have an outright collapse of a magnitude not witnessed in our lives. The S&P/DAX ratio is in favor of the S&P which suggests that we are likely to see a larger decline in Germany. 

German Stocks In Trend Limbo
Source: Dana Lyons' Tumblr.

Dubai Financial Market Index: 70% Decline Expected | Cyclic Vibrations

Ahmed Farghaly (Oct 01, 2016) - As visible the immediate projection for the Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) is a similar catastrophe as 2008! This would mean that the money to be spent on the new projects and on the infrastructure for the Expo 2020 is certainly not enough to keep the economy going. Our conservative projection is a 70% decline from current levels despite all the money being spent. The world expo in Dubai will occur at a time when the global economy will be at distress and hence revenues will likely not make up for the costs of hosting the event and will most likely lead to another Dubai debt crisis. 

 

In April 2006 Elliott Wave Financial Forecast presented the above close-up of two "Skyscraper" tip-offs [Malaysia's Petronas Towers and Taiwan's Taipei 101] and wrote: "Everything points to a similar fate in Dubai", and that Burj Dubai would "open its doors in the aftermath of the bull market that gave rise to its creation".

Crude Oil and the 34 Year Commodity Cycle | Tony Caldaro

Tony Caldaro (Aug 23, 2016) - Over the years we have written many times about the 34-year commodity cycle. Generally commodities rise as a group in a 13-year bull market, which is followed by a 21-year bear market. Each specific commodity has its own particular cycle which generally fits within the broader 34-year commodity cycle.

A bullish phase of this cycle started about two decades ago in 1998, and ended in 2011. A bear market, lasting about 21-years, has been underway since then. Sorry gold bugs! During the bull market phase some commodities rise in five waves. During the bear market phase all commodities decline in three larger waves. Naturally, just like there are corrections in bull markets, there are rallies in bear markets. Commodities, in general, are currently in one of those bear market rallies.

When one looks at a Crude chart covering nearly 50-years, one can clearly see two periods of rising prices and two periods of declining to sideways prices. While these rising and declining periods may look sporadic, they are actually quite regular when one knows what to look for. As we will explain in the following chart. 

Tony Caldaro: "Expect a price range between $25 and $85 over the next decade."

The two rising periods were actually five wave 10-year bull markets, i.e. 1970-1980 and 1998-2008. These two bull markets were separated by an 18-year bear market, i.e. 1980-1998. The rise during the bull markets were quite spectacular. Well over 1000% in such a short period of time. Price rises like these always lead to excess-capacity events. And these events are normally followed by nearly as spectacular declines. Which eventually cuts capacity until supply/demand reaches an equilibrium. We are in one of those equilibrium periods now.

With Crude 8-years into its bear market, and at least a decade away from starting a new bull market, we can already see a pattern unfolding which is relative to its previous bear market. To see this pattern one needs to review the larger waves first. During the last bear market Crude declined from 1980-1986, rallied to 1990, then declined from 1990-1998. A 6-year decline, then a 4-year rally, followed by an 8-year decline.

Since the current bear market just had an 8-year decline, 2008-2016, we should look into the last 8-year decline. Then the 8-year decline unfolded in three waves [1990]: 1994-1997-1998. Now the 8-year decline has also unfolded in three waves [2008]: 2009-2011-2016. Notice 1990: 4dn-3up-1dn, and 2008: 1dn-2up-5dn, nearly the exact reverse or mirror image. If we consider this a completed pattern, and we do, the next thing that should occur is a choppy 4-year bear market rally, i.e. 1986-1990 or 2016-2020. Therefore the $26 low should be the low for at least the next four years.

How far could Crude advance? During the last bear market all rallies, excluding the aberration from the Kuwait invasion, retraced 38.2%, 50.0%, or more of the previous larger decline. This suggests an upside target between $70 and $85 by the year 2020. Then, after that, a six-year decline into the final bear market low, which should be around the $26 area. In summary one should expect a price range between $25 and $85 over the next decade. Unless there is a supply-event, which could push the upper range higher.

See also Paweł Wiśniewski on Long-Term Commodity Cycles HERE

New Insights in Commodities | Cyclic Vibrations

Ahmed Farghaly (Jul 1, 2016) - The first chart is a synthetic chart of commodities. The way it was constructed was by isolating the second 18 year cycle of three 54 year cycle. The reason why I extracted the second 18 year cycle is because this is the cycle we are in right now in terms of commodities hence it should be correlated more with its counterpart in past 54 year cycles. I have also altered the length of the cycles to match the current average length of the 18 year cycle which is approximately 14.4 years. I then combined those cycles together in order to get a continuous series so I can isolate the cycle via spectral analysis and run neural network models on this particular position of the Kondratieff wave. The indicator that you see above is a neural network model with an 14.4 year cycle used as an input and the detrended zigzag as the output. This indicator's turning point should mimic those in the future provided that no significant changes occur to the length of the nominal 18 year wave. The second chart depicts the dates more clearly.

It is worth mentioning that the 14.4 year cycle with 4 harmonics was used as the input rather than just one harmonic, the reason for this was to aid us in depicted the peaks and troughs of the cycles smaller than the 14.4 year wave. As is visible on the chart above, we seem to have a clear path in the CRB index until late 2017. The projection also suggests that 2018 is likely to be a bad year for commodities. This correction should then be followed by a move into 4th quarter of 2020 followed by a correction to 2022 and so on (third chart).

In the neural network model below the price chart is an up percentage move indicator (fourth chart). It is calculated by having the cycle as an input and measuring the position of moves of over 7% a month and projecting something similar for the future of the current cycle. The likelihood of large percentage months on a closing basis is greatest from here going into mid 2019. Hence capital is best allocated in the commodity market now rather than chase the move after most of the large percentage gains have already been realized (fourth chart).

This indicator (fourth chart) is a forecast of the volatility index indicator using the same input as the charts above. It seems evident that the likelihood of high volatility is greatest from now going into 2020. This would mean that the purchase of call options are likely to be a better play than their sale in the upcoming environment. Trading in expectation of low volatility will probabalisticly lead to a loss going into 2020.

The 162 Year Cycle | Stocks and Commodities since 1555

Stock Prices 1509 to date | Video | Enlarge Chart

Ahmed Farghaly (May 18, 2016): "[...] The chart starts at the millennial low in 1555 and what followed is an absolute beauty. The way I first discovered the 162 year cycle was through drawing a trendline between two consecutive lows of the 54 year cycle. The lows I chose were that of 1842 and 1896. A break of such a trendline would suggest that a larger cycle has turned and indeed the trendline was broken in the 1929-1932 crash. This gave me a hint of the presence of a 162 year cycle. I assumed it was a 162 year cycle since the first 54 year cycle chosen to draw the trendline was a rally off of a bear market that lasted 64 years hence It was the ideal starting point. I then confirmed my hypothesis by looking at wheat prices and eventually commodity prices which made me conclude that the 162 year cycle's presence is no longer a hypothesis, it is a fact. The combined chart that [at left] is further evidence to its presence. Notice how nicely the first 324 year cycle subdivided into two 162 year cycles. The 162 year cycle trough was precisely in the middle of this 324 year cycle. If you look deeper into the picture you will notice that both 162 year cycles subdivided into three 54 year cycles supporting our conclusion that the Kondratieff wave is the third harmonic of the 162 year cycle. After the trough in 1784, we had three 54 year cycles that ended with the crash of the late 1920s which marked a trough of the 162 year cycle. What followed was the greatest bull market in modern history and it is unfortunate that we are close to its terminus. The peak of the last 324 year cycle occurred in the third 18 year cycle of the second 54 year cycle of the second 162 year cycle which is a position that we are in today. The likelihood of further translation than the previous 324 year cycle is slim considering that the force of the 972 year cycle has leveled out since the 1930s. 

The Elliott Wave structure is certainly interesting as well, what jumps out of the chart is the fact that we had a fifth wave extension in terms of the entire advance since 1784. What is even more interesting is the fact that the move from 1932 also sported a fifth wave extension. There is a very strong guideline in the wave principle that states that fifth wave extensions are typically followed by crashes. If one wants to search for examples commodities are a great place to start. The reason why commodities have dramatic crashes is because they follow a fifth wave extension. The guideline suggests that we can expect the decline to make it to the wave two of the fifth wave extension which would be below 1,000 on the DJIA. The fact that the 324 year cycle correction is due at this current point in time certainly supports this conclusion. Here is an example of a crash following a fifth wave extension [...]" More HERE + HERE

The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns

U.S. Global Investors (Jan 27, 2016) - This table shows the ebb and flow of commodity prices over the past decade.

Gold vs 4 Lunar Month Cycle

Crude Oil vs 4 Lunar Month Cycle

Soybeans vs 4 Lunar Month Cycle

SoLunar Intraday Maps - November 2015

The charts show the hourly solunar forces over Wall Street. Intraday movements of financial markets are strongly influenced 
by daily and intraday solunar forces. They usually closely follow their direction - either directly or inverted. Turning points can
be fine-tuned using the previously described planetary hours as well as the times of rising, culminating and setting planets.
Please note: Times calculated refer to EST.

SoLunar Intraday Maps - October 2015

The charts show the hourly solunar forces over Wall Street. Intraday movements of financial markets are strongly influenced 
by daily and intraday solunar forces. They usually closely follow their direction - either directly or inverted. Turning points can
be fine-tuned using the previously described planetary hours as well as the times of rising, culminating and setting planets.
Please note: The times calculated refer to EST (not EDT).

Commodity Prices 1170 - 2011 (Historical Chart)

China's Raw Materials Consumption

Visual Capitalist (Sep 11, 2015) - Over the last 20 years, the world economy has relied on the Chinese economic growth engine more than it would like to admit. The 1.4 billion people living in the world’s most populous country account for 13% of global GDP, which is significant no matter how it is interpreted. However, in the commodity sector, China has another magnitude of importance. The fact is that China consumes mind-bending amounts of materials, energy, and food. That’s why the prospect of slowing Chinese growth is likely to continue as a source of nightmares for investors focused on the commodity sector.

China consumes a big proportion of the world’s materials used in infrastructure. It consumes 54% of aluminum, 48% of copper, 50% of nickel, 45% of all steel, and 60% of concrete. In fact, China has consumed more concrete in the last three years than the United States did in all of the 20th century. China is also prolific in accumulating precious metals – the country buys or mines 23% of gold and 15% of the world’s silver supply. With many mouths to feed, China also needs large amounts of food. About 30% of rice, 22% of corn, and 17% of wheat gets eaten by the Chinese. Lastly, the country is no hack in terms of burning fuel either. Notably, China uses 49% of coal for power generation as well as metallurgical processes in making steel. It also uses 13% of the world’s uranium and 12% of all oil.

Most Commodities Historically Cheap

Many of the commodities seem to have had a consistently decreasing real price prior to the last 100 years. Commodities that look particularly cheap are generally agricultural ones while the more industrial based commodities seem to be at the more expensive end of history, in part fueled by significant demand from China over the past decade. This is particularly true when looking at data over the past 100 years. Precious metals also look expensive from a historical stand-point, which probably reflects the post-1971 fiat currency regime we currently operate in. One of the problems with this analysis is that the importance of these commodities changes over time as does the cost of mining them. Source: Deutsche Bank (2015)  - Long-Term Asset Return Study.

SoLunar Intraday Maps - September 2015

The charts show the hourly solunar forces over Wall Street. Intraday movements of financial markets are strongly influenced 
by daily and intraday solunar forces. They usually closely follow their direction - either directly or inverted. Turning points can
be fine-tuned using the previously described planetary hours as well as the times of rising, culminating and setting planets.
Please note: Times are EST (not EDT). Maps of previous months are HERE

SoLunar Intraday Maps - August 2015

The charts show the hourly solunar forces over Wall Street. Intraday movements of financial markets are strongly influenced 
by daily and intraday solunar forces. They usually closely follow their direction - either directly or inverted. Turning points can
be fine-tuned using the previously described planetary hours as well as the times of rising, culminating and setting planets.
Please note: The times calculated refer to EST (not EDT).

HERE