Gold ended the week around $1283 after a quiet session on Friday, with the weekly chart showing a bullish "hammer" candlestick that suggests a short term bottom is in.
We therefore expect the price to rise towards the upper boundary of the triangle consolidation pattern around $1335-$1340 over the coming trading sessions, though our bias remains with an eventual downside breakout of the triangle and lower prices.
The dollar has slipped marginally below 81 and the gold bulls will be watching closely for confirmation of a failure to hold this key level. Oil remains weak, signalling a lack of inflationary worries and equities are still at or near all time highs with the S&P pushing against $1800.
Support can be found at $1277-$1280, $1260, $1250, $1207 and $1180. A break of $1180 would have serious bearish implications for gold and suggest a decline to $1000-$1050 as a minimum.
Resistance can be found at $129$1, $1295, $1300, $1310, $1320-$1322, $1328-$1330, $1338-$1342, $1352-$1355 and $1360. A break above $1360 would suggest a new bull trend was underway, though it would take a break of $1434 to confirm this was the case, with a target of $1525 as a minimum.