Gold got sacked in the early going Thursday by the usual mysterious, evil forces, dropping $10 in mere minutes on the reported sale of 15,000 contracts. By day’s end, however, the Auggies had recouped enough ground to put a promising, bullish pattern in play (see inset). It has the potential to reach 1308.50 next week — and the sooner the better. More immediately, the push past the green line warrants a bullish trading bias, predicated on a minimum upside target of 1291.00 — the midpoint Hidden Pivot. An easy move through it would shorten the odds of a continuation to 1308.50 by generating a strong impulse leg on the intraday charts. ______ UPDATE (June 9, 8:45 a.m. EDT): How neglectful of me not to give an alternative, bearish scenario! Here it is — mostly played out at this point: The August futures look bound for 1266.60, off (on the 30-minute chart), a=1291.50 at 2:00 a.m.; b=1273.50. The stall at the moment is at p2=1271.10, and yes, it would be a promising sign if the Auggies reverse from here and climb above 1282.50. But don’t bet on it.