I’m tracking a single-contact position with a cost basis that has been reduced by profit-taking to 1204.80. At a current price of 1306.10, that would imply a theoretical gain so far of a little more than $10,000. On Friday, the futures leaped on the opening bar to 1304.90, a single tick from the 1304.80 target I’d sent out the night before.  After a moderate pullback of about $4, they reversed direction and headed higher into the close, topping at 1306.40.  This is bullish price action that implies the uptrend is very likely to continue. My immediate target is 1312.90, provided the futures can push past the 1306.80 midpoint pivot shown (see inset).  If the move through that number is quick and decisive, we should see more progress to as high as 1320.90 over the near term (60-minute, A=1262.80 on 10/6).  Raise the  stop-loss to 1286.70 for now, day order, but plan on hedging the long position with GLD options if and when 1320.90 is closely approached. Specifically, I’ll recommend shorting one GLD Nov 3 125 call if GCZ17 is trading above 1319.80.  I estimate the calls will be trading for about 1.30-1.40 if the target is reached within a week. Mark the order good-till-canceled. _______ UPDATE (Oct 16, 10:35 p.m. EDT): Gold gave up all of Friday’s nice gains and then some when the bad guys pounded the futures late in the session for who-knows-what reason. This generated a bearish impulse leg on the hourly chart, but I’ll suggest using the 10-minute chart shown to get a precise read on the downtrend’s strength. If the 1292.80 midpoint support gives way easily, look for more slippage down to at least d=1287.20. _______ UPDATE (Oct 17, 10:08 a.m.): This morning’s downdraft stopped out the position by generating an even more powerful impulse leg on the hourly chart with a dip beneath Oct 11’s 1286.80 low.  The total theoretical profit on the trade was $8200.  We’ll attempt to get aboard again when sellers relent. For now, bid 1282.60 for a single contract, stop 1281.90.  Click here to see the chart. _______ UPDATE (11:38 a.m.): Cancel the 1282.60 bid, since the swoon minutes ago to 1283.20 effectively fulfilled the target. It is still valid, but I don’t want to buy there and risk getting ‘sloppy seconds’. Our bottom-fishing attempts will typically try to leverage cleanly hit targets the first time they are touched or closely approached.