The futures pulled back $8 after thrusting to 1290.40, and although signs of the struggle I’d predicted at that level were explicit on the intraday charts, by day’s end bulls appeared to be gaining the upper hand. The fact that the target was exceeded by $1.50 is mildly bullish by itself, but we’ll wait for buyers to clinch the case for us. If, in the space of a day or two, they can close the futures above a target that took a month to reach, that would hold very bullish implications for the intermediate term.  Meanwhile, and to remind you, my minimum target above these levels is $1340.  As long as we take these leaps one at a time, we can trade the rally with the same high confidence that obtained when, at $1251, we set our sights on $1291. There were some nasty selloffs along the way, but we were able to scoff at them, just as we will any silly notions that gold is approaching some kind of important top.