Yesterday after the close I mentioned to another trader that gold futures needed to stage a rally back above $1370 overnight or else they would be vulnerable to a break below $1350 the following morning. As it turned out, we got a bear raid overnight when 2,000 GC contracts hit the market in a split second:

Click to enlarge

GC_15-minute
The following chart from Nanex (http://www.nanex.net/aqck2/4420.html) excellently illustrates how such a 'stop tripping' order affects (destroys) market liquidity:

GC_Depth_Heat_MapGold futures essentially stopped functioning for several seconds - a clear illustration of how high frequency trading has drastically affected, and essentially destroyed the markets as we once knew them. Gold is now battling to hold onto support in the $1320-$1330 area, below $1320 it should be a quick trip down to $1300. Meanwhile, $1350 now becomes resistance once again.