The last couple of years and—in particular—the last couple of months were very difficult for gold traders—i.e. they were boring. Despite several huge daily price swings, the precious metals market has not been going anywhere, moving in and around the $1,100 - $1,300 price range. Gold got to the point where this lack of volatility is by itself an extreme sign pointing to a much bigger price swing in the market, as the periods of very high and very low volatility tend to follow each other. Gold seems to have once again topped after moving to a long-term resistance line and the previous highs. Will the upcoming decline be any different than the previous local downswings that were simply followed by yet another rally up to $1,300?

This time could really be different and in the following paragraphs, we explain why. Let’s start with gold’s long-term chart...