For years, gold’s corrections have been brutal, and that is why many erstwhile bulls have not rushed to buy this rally. They have instead been waiting for a nasty pullback in order to load up at bargain prices. But Mr Market has not obliged. Instead, retracements have been shallow and rallies steep. The latter have often occurred after-hours, but in one recent instance via a trampoline bounce early in the day.

By playing hard-to-get, gold is showing the most encouraging signs we have seen in a long, long while. This evening the August Comex futures have uncorked a 25-pointer, impaling a midpoint Hidden Pivot resistance at 1444.40 that is tied to a 1504.00 target first identified here weeks ago.  That is my minimum upside objective at the moment and it should be yours as well if you trade this vehicle. If you want to see how some pros are boldly trading the move so far using GDX call options, stop by the Rick’s Picks Trading Room. You can access it by taking a free two-week trial subscription. Simply provide your name and email address at the top of the home page and you will have instant access to the entire site. No credit card is necessary. _______ UPDATE (Jul 30, 10:17 p.m.): Gold would need to fall $45 to invalidate the 1504 rally target noted above (click here for the chart). Stranger things have happened, but even that would not negate the bullish look of the daily chart.  In any event, we’ll avoid the fray ahead of the Fed’s “momentous” announcement concerning an expected 25-basis-point easing._______ UPDATE (Jul 31, 10:07 p.m.): The moderate selloff tripped a ‘mechanical’ buy signal at 1409.08, stop 1384.70. The trade is somewhat riskier than we should prefer, since the pullback from the top of the uncompleted C-D leg did not inflict the kind of pain on bulls that makes these trades work so well. It rates a ‘7.2’ on a 1-10 scale. Here’s the chart. _______ UPDATE (Aug 1, 6:56 p.m.): The trade worked beautifully, producing a profit of as much as $3000 per contract intraday. Did you get a piece of it? If so, please mention it in the Trading Room so I can determine whether to establish a tracking position.  The 1504.00 target remains viable. We’ll switch to the December contract hereafter.