I know a lot of people pooh pooh seasonal trading because it doesn't always work - but nothing is ever guaranteed in the stock market. I simply look at it as an increased probability that a trade will work if done during a period of seasonal strength. And I like to prepare for it a month or so in advance by watching the technicals.

A few sectors do well in summer - notably fertilizer, biotech, and PMs.

Gold the metal tends to bottom around July 12, and the stocks around July 27 according to Brooke Thackray. These dates are just averages, so I look for technical signs 2 or 3 weeks prior. And there are signs the time is near - the big high volume day at the end of June, daily MACD is now signalling a buy on GLD, GDX, GDXJ. All of these are in potential bottoming formations - higher lows (but still no higher highs).

I've started to re-accumulate gold stocks - I'm concentrating on the small caps, because GDXJ seems to be outperforming GDX lately. Also, judging by the heavy volumes at the end June, the mutual and hedge funds were probably dumping them to get them out of their portfolios before the quarter ended - so they are probably washed out.