Gold retested the top of the down trend channel following last week's breakout, with the price faling as low as $1248 near the 20 DMA before moving higher.
The bulls need to build on last week's breakout to confirm the move, with the bears looking to hold the price here and pressure it back into the channel as equities recover from their recent mini-rout.
The dollar is of course closely watched and the recent failure to break and hold the key 8$1 level will give the bulls some confidence, particularly if equities fail to recover quickly back to their recent highs.
Gold is at a crucial juncture here, with the chart patterns indicating that down is the most likely medium term direction, though with the bulls on the verge of reversing that likelihood.
Support can be found at $1250-$1255, $1237-$1240, $1220-$1225, $1214, $1210, $1200, $1188-$1190 and $1180. A break of $1180 would have serious bearish implications for gold and suggest a decline to $1000-$1050 in the short term.
Resistance can be found at $1268-$1272, $1277-$1280 and $1291-$1295. Holding support at $1250 and a subsequent break above $1279 would suggest an end to the intermediate term down trend, though it would take a close above $1300 to confirm a more significant rally was developing.