A feisty charge after-hours has lifted the futures above the ostensibly daunting peak at 1388 recorded on October 14.  In all of human history, that was the highest price for which an ounce of gold had ever traded.  And so we must infer that the good guys were feeling pretty confident when they decided to take on a millennial peak at a time of day when most U.S. traders were headed to dinner.  The move so far has reached 1394.40, and although that’s 12 bucks below the 1406.70 target we’ve been using as a minimum upside objective, it seems a foregone conclusion that buyers will put the finishing stroke on the rally before trading opens in New York Friday morning. I’ve extrapolated yet one more target from the pattern — 1427.50, and it looks sufficiently compelling on the hourly chart (see inset) to use as a new minimum for the bull cycle begun on September 28.  Please note with traderly caution, however, that 1400 may prove to be other than a piece of cake.  For one, it represents an important round-number resistance; and for two, 1400.80 is the D target of the following pattern on the weekly chart: A=882.30 (4/17/09); B=1234.90 (12/04/09); and C=1048.20.