"This has reference to the breakdown in gold, from the triangle.

"I also subscribe to Lowry's and in the past, when a triangle has been observed by them in the U.S. stock market, they have mentioned that the down move (or the up move, as the case may be), could be equal to the length of the base of the triangle, measured from the breakdown point.

"Does your experience corroborate this? If so, where is the estimated bottom? To me, it looks like a sizable down move as the base of the triangle is almost $400 - perhaps a mistake on my part!!"

David Fuller's view No disrespect to Lowry's but we prefer factual technical analysis rather than theoretical price projections. The fact is that gold did break downwards from a triangular shape by taking out the November low. The measurement, to which you refer as a price projection is pure theory in my view.

However, there are other factual aspects of gold's chart pattern to consider.

Using TCS terminology, this week's break beneath the November low increases the possibility of a right-hand top extension phase following the Type-1 accelerated peak in August, which is usually followed by the Type-2 downward dynamic as we saw in September. Gold is currently testing its rising 200-day MA which has provided support for a lengthy medium-term uptrend over nearly three years.

Bearish projections beyond the very short term require a sustained break beneath that MA. Conversely, a rally back above the early-December high near $1765 would signal a failed downward move and also break the progression of lower rally highs evident since early September. Above $1800 the overall pattern would look decidedly like a lengthy consolidation in its latter stages, prior to a resumption of the overall upward trend.

Commonality in terms of other precious metals is currently bearish, at least in USD terms, as they are underperforming gold. More importantly, I believe, gold currently looks considerably stronger and more consistent when quoted in other currencies. You can review this in the Library by clicking on the chevron shown centre-left above each chart and going to the 'Relative Charts' section. In its day-to-day moves recently, gold has been closely correlated to stock markets but this was not always the case.

In conclusion, gold currently faces some crosscurrents in terms of influences, including sentiment. This is usually a period of seasonal strength for gold but that is not happening, at least not in USD terms. These remain short to medium-term concerns. On a longer-term basis I see no reason why gold should not remain a relative and also absolute out performer more often than not. For the cognoscente, gold remains hard money in a fiat currency world and central banks continue to print with abandon.