Evergreen explainers on the forces behind the gold price, the data releases that move it, and how gold compares with other assets.
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Gold does not move at random. Over time its price responds to a handful of big forces, and on any given day to a few data releases. These guides explain each one in plain words, so the news makes more sense when you read it.
The core drivers come first: the US dollar and the dollar index, real yields and inflation-protected bonds, Fed interest-rate decisions, inflation, and central bank gold buying. Then the data that moves gold on the day, such as CPI, PCE, NFP, JOLTS, GDP and the ISM surveys, plus how to read the COT report and the market’s rate expectations.
Our data studies measure how gold actually behaved on past NFP, CPI and Fed days, and how it has done in different months of the year. The comparison guides put gold side by side with the S&P 500, bitcoin, silver, bonds, real estate and the euro, and explain spot gold versus futures, physical versus paper gold, and gold options.
For what is moving gold today, see why is gold moving today and the gold data studies hub.
The big forces behind the price, then the data that moves it on the day.
Newest first. Each article shows the date it was published.
What moves goldRolling gold-DXY and gold-real-yield correlations from our tracker, why they break (central banks, safe-haven demand), how to read r, and what to change when the link fails.
What moves goldHow a BoE decision reaches gold through the pound, the dollar and global yields, the 5 November time in eight zones, expectations, and gold's move on six 2026 decision days.
What moves goldWhat the ISM services PMI and its prices-paid index measure, why services inflation matters to the Fed and gold, the release time in eight zones, and the last 12 gold reactions.
What moves goldWhat JOLTS measures, the release time in eight zones, why quits matter more than the headline, and how gold reacted on the last 12 releases in hourly data.
What moves goldWhat the ISM manufacturing PMI and its prices index measure, why gold reacts, the release time in six zones, and how gold moved on 185 first-of-month release days since 2010.
What moves goldGC, MGC and 1OZ side by side: CME specs, tick values, real daily and hourly moves per contract, margin basics and who each one suits.
What moves gold22 years of gold in dollars vs gold in euros: returns, volatility, drawdowns, the biggest divergence years and which suits which trader.
What moves goldGold vs US Treasuries since 2002: total returns, drawdowns, correlation by period, and how much the 10-year real yield has moved gold week to week.
What moves goldGold vs US house prices, 1987–2026: nominal and real returns from the Case-Shiller index and CPI, drawdowns, who won when, and the caveats.
What moves gold26 years of gold vs the S&P 500: total returns with dividends, drawdowns, year-by-year winners, crises and a rolling correlation chart.
What moves gold79 CPI releases, 2020–2026: gold's day range vs normal, direction, the next day, and the 8:30 am hour with how often the first move reversed.
What moves gold77 jobs reports, 2020–2026: gold's day range vs normal, direction, the next day, and the 8:30 am hour with how often the first move reversed.
What moves gold14 Fed decisions, 2025–2026: gold's closes, % moves and daily ranges before, on and after each one, with an honest summary.
What moves goldThe one-line formulas for gold in euros, pounds, yen and rupees, worked examples with Fed-week exchange rates, and how gold crosses separate gold strength from dollar moves.
What moves goldBars, coins, allocated and unallocated vaults, ETFs, futures and XAUUSD CFDs compared: ownership, costs, counterparty risk and which form fits saving or trading.
What moves goldCalls, puts, premiums and expiry on gold, COMEX and ETF options, implied volatility as an expected-move gauge, and how expiries and dealer hedging touch XAUUSD.
What moves goldVolatility, pip value, costs, margin, hours and psychology: a side-by-side guide to choosing between XAUUSD and EURUSD.
What moves goldWhy reserve managers buy gold, the World Gold Council numbers from 2022 to 2026, and how to track the monthly data without over-reading it.
What moves goldWhat the advance GDP estimate measures, how it moves XAUUSD through yields and Fed odds, and a release-day routine.
What moves goldClick-by-click setup for the free gold widgets on WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Blogger, Squarespace and plain HTML, with script vs iframe advice and fixes.
What moves goldWhy gold and the dollar index move in opposite directions, the current 30, 90 and 250-day correlation and beta, and when the link breaks down.
What moves goldEvery FOMC, CPI and NFP date for 2026–2027 with times in New York, UTC, Dubai and India, plus how each event moves XAUUSD.
What moves goldMonth-by-month averages, hit rates and extremes from our seasonality tool, the reasons behind the patterns, and the right way to use them.
What moves goldRecords and drawdowns, volatility, the 2026 correlation spike, trading hours, leverage and what each asset is actually good for.
What moves goldLong-run vs short-run evidence, why the CPI link is weak, the 1980 trap, and why rates matter more than inflation for XAUUSD traders.
What moves goldWhy gold often falls in the first days of a stock crash, what 2008, 2020 and 2022 show, and the signals that tell you which kind of sell-off you're in.
What moves goldNominal vs real yields, TIPS and breakevens in plain English, the latest readings, and how to use our gold vs real yields tracker.
What moves goldCopy-paste code for three free gold widgets, step-by-step setup for WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and HTML, plus sizing and currency options.
What moves goldContract sizes, the value of a move, volatility, leverage and drivers for XAUUSD vs XAGUSD, with worked examples.
What moves goldPCE vs CPI in plain English, the latest readings, and a simple routine for PCE day on gold.
What moves goldWhere Fed hike odds come from, a worked example of the maths, and how gold usually reacts when the odds shift.
What moves goldFormulas and worked examples to convert the XAUUSD ounce price to grams, 10 grams, tola and kilo for 24K, 22K and 18K, plus why local prices differ.
What moves goldWhy oil spikes hurt gold in 2026, the gold-oil ratio explained with its historical range, and a simple routine for watching crude as a gold trader.
What moves goldGold after the first Fed hike in 10 cycles since 1972, why 1980 and 2022 were different, and how to think about the 2026 hiking cycle.
What moves goldWhy XAUUSD and COMEX gold futures quote different prices, how carry and the basis work, contract sizes from 1 oz to 100 oz, and how to keep your levels consistent.
What moves goldHow many ounces of silver buy one ounce of gold, why the number swings from 17 to over 125, where it is now, and how traders use it as context.
Over months and years: real interest rates, the US dollar, central bank buying and investor demand. On a single day: US data such as CPI and NFP, and Fed decisions or comments.
Gold is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes it more expensive for buyers using other currencies. The link is often strong but not constant, which the DXY guide explains.
Sometimes, over long periods, but not reliably year to year. Real yields often explain gold’s moves better than inflation alone.
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