The weekly chart for gold perhaps best encapsulates how gold traders and gold investors must feel when considering the price action. For intraday traders, nothing has changed with gold offering excellent two-way price action over a $20 range. For gold bugs and longer-term investors, the picture is very different, with the precious metal continuing to trade in what they would consider a narrow corridor of price action and duly building both support and resistance levels as the congestion phase continues.

However, there is one key level which is now in sight, and this is the $1169 per ounce region tested in the second week of December 2016, and repeated once more in August this year. On both occasions, this level held firm, and in the former resulted in a strong rally higher as the selling volumes declined and bullish volumes increase. So far, we have yet to see longer-term signs of bullish intent, and given the repeated efforts to rally, the outlook still remains weak. So for gold traders, the opportunities continue, and for investors, patience remains the watchword, and as always volume will reveal the truth behind any move.