We’ll grudgingly give bulls the benefit of the doubt for now, since the pullback from Tuesday’s high looks like a classical consolidation. However, there is no getting around the fact that bulls lacked the cojones to push past the external peak at 1268.00 (see inset) on the first try.  This display of timidity is almost certain to have implications going forward, but at the very least it suggests that gold’s true believers lack the energy or the conviction to end a bear market that is now in its third year. The futures remain a bull trade at the moment nonetheless, and traders should look to do their buying on a pullback from just above 1253.50.  That’s equal to a small peak made near the end of Wednesday’s session that’s easily visible on the 5-minute chart. The relevant point ‘A’ low would be 1252.00 (6:25 p.m. EST). ________  UPDATE (December 12, 9:44 a.m. EST):  Gold has gotten dumped for the umpteenth time, so far retracing a little more than 70% of the recent, apparently gratuitous rally. If you need a slender reed of hope to cling to, the  1212.10 low is still intact. A longstanding bear-market target at 1139.50 remains viable.  This corresponds to the 1125 target given for the December contract. _______ UPDATE (December 13, 12:04 a.m.): As long as the 1210.10 low holds bulls are entitled to the benefit of the doubt. But they’ll need a ‘booster rally’ of at least $14.40 to get out of crisis mode, and exactly twice that to set up a recovery next week. Assuming such a rally were to occur from no lower than yesterday’s 1222.60 bottom, that would imply that 1237.00 is where encouragement begins, and 1251.50, a sigh of relief.