WEAKER DOLLAR AND LOWER YIELDS BOOST GOLD AND ITS MINERS -- NEWMONT HAS ALREADY TURNED UP -- WEAKER DOLLAR MAY ALSO BE BOOSTING MATERIALS STOCKS

GOLD ASSETS TURN UP... While global stocks are having another strong day, precious metals are starting to perk up as well.  Chart 1 shows the Gold SPDR (GLD) jumping today to the highest level in nearly two months.  Gold has been in a downside correction since early August, but remains in a long-term uptrend.    Today's strong price action suggests that correction may be ending.   Gold miners are having a strong day as well.   Chart 2 shows the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) clearing its 50-day average today and on the verge of breaking through a falling trendline extending back to early August.   Chart 3 shows Newmont Corporation (NEM) having already cleared that falling trendline and trading at the highest level in nearly two months.   NEM is the biggest holding in the GDX.

WEAKER DOLLAR HELPS...Two intermarket trends that may be helping gold are a drop in the dollar and yesterday's big drop in bond yields.   As a rule, gold does better when bond yields are lower.   The same is true of the dollar which is down sharply today.   Previous messages have pointed out that the dollar and stocks have been trending in opposite directions since the spring.   Since the dollar is viewed as a global safe haven, it tends to weaken when global stocks are rising which they're doing this week.   Silver and its miners are also rising today.   It's also worth noting that the Materials SPDR (XLB) is the day's strongest sector and is hitting a new record today.    It's being led higher by commodity chemicals, industrial metal producers, and gold miners.   A weaker dollar may be helping there as well.