DislikedIt's possible but at this point it is pure speculation that operation twist would be replaced with unsterilized treasury purchases. The Fed balance sheet still has more short dated debt on it so unless there is a downturn in the US economy (which does not seem likely at this point), I just don't see why the rate of easing would be stepped up from it's current pace.
Furthermore, the Fed's efforts to weaken the USD have not worked at all since the start of QE3, so why would anyone automatically assume that it would work for a speculated QE4?
Let's...Ignored
This is not entirely true though. The Fed announced QE II in November 2010, and the program lasted until the second quarter of 2011. Here’s how gold and silver performed during that period:
http://sovereignsociety.com/files/20...-Graph-112.png
I think there is a high probability that Operation Twist does not get extended and an even higher probability that it is replaced with something even more aggressive direct purchase of treasuries.
There are only 3 options here:
1) Extend the "Twist"
2) Let it expire
3) Replace it with something else
The market has become addicted to monetary stimulus. If the Fed does nothing, the market will be extremely disappointed. There is no way that Ben Bernanke is going to let this happen...
You are right about weakening European economy and a strengthening US economy, however, we can't disregard a massive $85 billion dollar a month printing frenzy by the Fed, this weakens the USD.