It’s been a while since we looked in on the Gold Bugs Index, but as we might have expected, it has kept pace nicely with the rally in physical gold prices. The bullish pattern shown projects to as high as 175.68 over the near term (see inset). That’s a Hidden Pivot resistance, and its attainment would become an odds-on bet if and when HUI exceeds the secondary pivot at 166.41 by at least 1.50 (or so) points. The weekly chart is especially bullish, since the strong move off January’s 99.19 bottom is still uncorrected. The rally has already exceeded two ‘external’ peaks on the weekly chart, but if it were to get past yet another at 187.17 recorded in May, that would lend weight to the possibility that we are seeing the nascent stage of a major bull market. _______ UPDATE (February 24, 8:20 p.m. EST): The sharp reversal off a spike high on the opening bar may have trapped a few bulls, but it did zero technical damage to the intraday charts. The 175.68 target noted above remains viable and should be used as a minimum price objective for the near term. Bulls looking for a belated opportunity should use p=166.41, or possibly p=157.14, as ‘mechanical’ launching pads. You’re qualified to attempt this trade if you know what stop-loss would apply from either of the two levels.