Hi DCFM,
Thanks for the post. EdeGroot I have a great amount of respect for (even if much of his analysis is beyond my understanding) and I find that he is usually most correct even if I don't like what he is saying.
Mr. Nichols analysis on the other hand seems convincing to draw people in, so I signed up for his service, and was immediately easily frustrated his complete ignoring of all external factors (like Fed rate announcements, Comex contract delivery schedules etc.) on the price of gold. For him, the patterns drove the price, and NOTHING else could. All, and only, fractal analysis and trend energy rule his pronouncements. However look back at his record in 2010 - all of this was absolutely supposed to have come to a head already this year. I didn't find his subscription to be of any value, nor his predictions accurate.
RE: Mid April 2013 - I just can't see how the POG will be suppressed for that long - the 'seasonal' strength for gold would be just about over by then (sell May, go away). Mid April would be about 16 weeks from now - only 80 trading days (or an eternity in gold-dog years :))
Trying to make sense of it all...