Learn: what moves gold
Short explainers on the forces the chart tracks, from Fed policy and inflation to tariffs and elections.
- How high inflation impacts gold
When prices rise fast, cash and bonds lose buying power, so gold, which pays no interest, costs less to hold by comparison.
- How negative real yields impact gold
A real yield is the return on a 10-year Treasury after inflation; below zero, a bond holder loses buying power, so gold's lack of interest costs nothing by comparison.
- How a strong dollar impacts gold
Gold is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes an ounce cost more in other currencies, which can thin demand from buyers outside the U.S.
- How FOMC rate decisions impact gold
At each decision the FOMC sets a target for the overnight rate banks charge each other, and other short-term rates follow it.
- How CPI releases impact gold
The CPI report measures how fast consumer prices rose over the past 12 months.
- How jobs reports impact gold
The Employment Situation report gives the unemployment rate and payroll counts for the month before.
- How GDP releases impact gold
The GDP advance estimate is the first official reading of how fast the U.S.
- How U.S. elections impact gold
Elections decide who sets taxes, spending and trade policy, which can move the dollar and interest rates and, through them, gold.
- How QE impacts gold
Quantitative easing, or QE, is when the Federal Reserve creates money to buy bonds, pushing long-term interest rates down when cutting its policy rate is not enough.
- How QT impacts gold
Quantitative tightening, or QT, is QE in reverse: the Federal Reserve lets the bonds it holds mature without replacing them, so its balance sheet shrinks.
- How rate-cut cycles impact gold
A rate-cut cycle runs from the Fed's first cut to its last in the same direction.
- How rate-hike cycles impact gold
A rate-hike cycle runs from the Fed's first increase to its last in the same direction.
- How recessions impact gold
A recession is a broad fall in economic activity.
- How tariff shocks impact gold
A tariff is a tax on imports.
- How debt-ceiling standoffs impact gold
The debt ceiling is the legal limit on U.S.