The slow bull market pattern in the gold market is unfolding clearly. Entering early 2026, gold prices are demonstrating remarkable resilience, with both bulls and bears engaging in fierce battles around key levels during high consolidation. For traders, now is the time to precisely grasp the rhythm.

First, let's look at the fundamental support. The Federal Reserve's expectation of rate cuts remains the main driving force behind the upward movement of gold prices. Market enthusiasm for loose policies throughout the year persists, and the weak dollar index combined with declining US Treasury yields continue to provide liquidity support for gold. More importantly, global geopolitical uncertainties have not dissipated, and central banks around the world are increasing their gold holdings, reinforcing its asset allocation value. These factors intertwine to build a "moat" for the bulls. However, in the short term, attention should be paid to market sentiment fluctuations—profit-taking at high levels may trigger slight pullbacks, but these are not enough to change the medium- to long-term upward trend.

From a technical perspective, the 4-hour Bollinger Bands are quite convincing. The upper band is at 4658.15, the middle support level is at 4601.26, and the lower band is at 4544.36. Currently, gold prices are holding above the middle band and moving along the upper band, with the Bollinger Bands showing a typical bullish widening pattern. Since the low point of 4343.87, gold has steadily climbed along the upward channel between the upper and middle bands. Although recent resistance has been encountered in the 4642.85 to 4677.25 range with repeated oscillations, each pullback has not broken below the middle band support, indicating strong buying momentum among the bulls.

More importantly, the key level at 4613.21 deserves attention. It is both a support near the middle band and the lower boundary of the recent oscillation range. As long as this level holds, the bullish upward pace will not be broken.

Trading strategy-wise, a high sell and low buy rhythm is recommended: for long positions, consider accumulating in the 4600-4610 range after stabilization, targeting the 4635-4650 zone; for short positions, consider light positions on rebounds around 4640, with targets at 4610-4600-4580.