It is still premature for gold traders to start buying. That’s the judgment of many contrarian analysts, who note that gold market sentiment is not yet favorable. This is the same opinion they had six weeks ago, the last time I focused a column on gold market sentiment . Gold GCG9, -0.21% today, of course, is trading slightly lower than where it stood then . Consider the average recommended gold market exposure level among a group of several dozen short-term gold timers monitored by my Hulbert Financial Digest (as measured by the Hulbert Gold Newsletter Sentiment Index, or HGNSI). This average currently stands at 10.4% — indicating that the average gold timer currently is allocating just 10% of his gold-trading portfolio to gold. Though this HGNSI reading of 10.4% is a lot lower than the greater-than-60% readings registered in late October, it nevertheless is not so low as to indicate the excessive bearishness that typically accompanies a tradable low. My research int