Looking at the longer-range spot-market trading pattern of gold, at the beginning of 2010 it hovered at prices slightly above $1000 an ounce (in USA dollars). Completing the last leg of a Bull Market that began in 2001 (when the trading was below $300 an ounce, most of the year) prices rapidly jumped during 2010 and the first half of 2011 past $1900 an ounce.

The long term Gold Bear Market (that began to take form during the second half of 2011) looks to have finally ended last December. Personally, I’m far more a (contrarian) fundamentalist than what’s misleadingly called a “technician.” However, once in a blue moon, the trading pattern exhibited takes unmistakable shape (and even hard-core fundamentalists begin to take heed). Even more compelling, this time the well-defined turn comes off a well-defined bottom.

http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=GC&p=d1

The pattern is known as Cup-and-Handle. Generally the Handle is defined as being on the right side of the cup (after the turn). In this case, the Handle is on the left side of the cup (before the turn), making the turn off-the-bottom all the more unmistakable.