In a perfect storm of fundamental and technical factors, gold and the rest of the precious metals complex finally sold off in dramatic fashion last Tuesday.  China’s week long holiday drying up physical demand out of Asia, hawkish commentary from a Fed official, and gold testing pivotal moving average and psychological support around $1,300, all proved to be insurmountable bearish pressure on the yellow metal.  Gold broke through $1,300 which then triggered stops to take it all the way down to finish the day below $1,270.  After the big sell off last week, we’ve seen some consolidation so far this week.  China has returned as a big buyer and ETFs have steadily added ounces to their reserves.  The 200 day moving average has effectively capped the market for three days in a row and this remains near term resistance.  Support is coming in at $1,240, the low from last Friday.  Last week was probably the strongest demand seen all year for fabricated coins and bars in the US.  Given that the market was so slow for 6 months though, most participants had built up inventory and were happy to get rid of it at low premiums.  Without the volatility this week, demand is already starting to wane again.  We’ll need to see another drop in prices before premiums expand for coins and bars [see current gold prices].