Gold is driven primarily by real interest rates (yields minus inflation), the strength of the US dollar, central-bank buying, and risk sentiment. Rising real yields usually pressure gold because holding a non-yielding asset costs more; falling real yields and dollar weakness typically support it.
Gold pays no interest. When real yields rise, the opportunity cost of holding gold increases and it tends to fall; when real yields drop, that cost disappears and gold tends to rise. This is why US inflation data and Federal Reserve decisions move gold so violently — they reprice real yields instantly.
Gold is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar mechanically makes gold more expensive for other currencies and tends to weigh on price. The relationship is usually inverse but not perfect — in genuine crisis both can rise together as everything else is sold.
Central banks have been substantial net buyers in recent years, which provides a structural bid beneath the market. This drives the multi-year trend far more than the intraday chart, but it explains why dips have been bought persistently.
Gold acts as a haven during genuine stress, so geopolitical shocks can spike it. But for day-to-day trading, the honest answer is that most intraday movement is liquidity and positioning, not fundamentals. Scheduled news creates volatility; the structure of the auction decides where price actually goes between those events.
Usually. The relationship is generally inverse because gold is priced in dollars, though both can rise together during genuine market stress.
US inflation data (CPI), Federal Reserve rate decisions, and employment figures — all of which reprice real interest rate expectations.
Most intraday movement is driven by liquidity and positioning rather than fundamentals — price reaching for resting orders around obvious levels.