Switch-Hitting When Necessary

We may very well now have a short trade now setting up with the gold miners, into today's weakness.

On the GDX ETF daily chart, below, note the mini bear flag breakdown (light blue lines) today. Gold bugs must defend that dark blue line now, which is the 50-day moving average, or I suspect shorts will regain full control in the precious metals and mining complex. 

The space has largely been in a wide, sloppy range for quite some time, lending itself to some profitable long trades in recent quarters. However, bulls have failed to cement a multi-year bottom. And the overarching bear trend must still be respected. 

Names like ABX had a chance to breakout on Friday but failed to do so, and are now pushing lower today. 

If we get a close and hold below the 50-day moving average on the GDX (and GDXJ), I have DUST as a bearish levered ETF on my radar this week for a quick trade. 

Let's see if gold bugs can stem the tide in 2015, once again.