Everything that moves gold in one place: today's market snapshot and key levels, every high-impact event coming up to the end of 2026 in your own time zone, hourly headlines, and the full story of gold's 2026 so far.
The numbers that matter most for gold right now, and the story behind them. For a live price, see the XAUUSD price chart.
Gold is range-bound between $4,100 and $4,200 as markets wait for the Federal Reserve’s decision on October 28. Hot inflation keeps pressure on the Fed: September CPI came in at 3.7% and producer prices jumped 6.3%.
Rates are winning the tug of war. Conflict in the Middle East and shipping risk around the Strait of Hormuz support safe-haven demand, but the same shock pushes oil and inflation up, which keeps US yields high. Since the start of 2026, the rate effect has beaten the safe-haven effect.
What could change the picture: a Fed that signals it is done hiking, softer inflation in the PCE (Oct 29) and CPI (Nov 10) reports, or a return of gold ETF buying. On the other side, a hawkish Fed and hot data could push gold back toward $4,000.
Every weekend we break down the coming week in detail: Gold Week Ahead: Fed decision week (Oct 26–30).
| Level | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Resistance | |
| $4,242–4,248 | 100-day moving average; a close above flips the medium-term tone |
| $4,200 | Top of the current range and round number |
| Support | |
| $4,100 | Bottom of the range |
| $4,073 | October 14 post-CPI low |
| $4,000 | Major psychological level |
| $3,940–3,960 | Area of the 2026 lows (July) |
Levels from public technical analysis as of 18 October 2026. Prices vary slightly between brokers.
Every scheduled release and central-bank decision that can move XAUUSD, with times in New York, GMT and your own time zone. Events already released are marked automatically.
| Date (GMT) | Event and why it matters | Time | Your time | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Oct 19 | China Q3 GDP, industrial production, retail sales Gauge of Chinese demand, the world's biggest gold consumer. | 02:00 GMT 10 pm (Sun) ET | — | Medium |
| Tue Oct 20 | People's Bank of China loan prime rate China's policy stance; affects yuan and local gold demand. | 01:15 GMT 9:15 pm (Mon) ET | — | Info |
| Wed Oct 21 | UK CPI (September) Moves GBP and the dollar index at the margin. | 06:00 GMT 2 am ET | — | Info |
| Fri Oct 23 | US flash PMIs (October) First look at October activity; strong numbers lift yields. | 13:45 GMT 9:45 am ET | — | Medium |
| Sun Oct 25 | Europe ends summer time London–New York gap shrinks to four hours for one week. | 01:00 GMT 9 pm (Sat) ET | — | Info |
| Tue Oct 27 | US durable goods orders Business investment signal ahead of the Fed. | 12:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | Medium |
| Tue Oct 27 | US consumer confidence Consumer health and inflation expectations. | 14:00 GMT 10 am ET | — | Medium |
| Wed Oct 28 | FOMC rate decision (press conference 30 min later) The biggest scheduled event for gold: rates, real yields and the dollar. | 18:00 GMT 2 pm ET | — | High |
| Thu Oct 29 | US Q3 GDP (advance) and September PCE inflation PCE is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge; can confirm or undo the Fed move. | 12:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Thu Oct 29 | ECB rate decision Moves EUR, the biggest weight in the dollar index. | 13:15 GMT 9:15 am ET | — | Medium |
| Fri Oct 30 | Bank of Japan decision (time not fixed) Yen and global yields; BoJ decisions often land in the Asian morning. | 03:00 GMT 11 pm (Thu) ET | — | Medium |
| Sun Nov 1 | US clocks go back one hour US data moves to 13:30 GMT; Fed decisions to 19:00 GMT. | 06:00 GMT 1 am ET | — | Info |
| Tue Nov 3 | US JOLTS job openings (September) Labour-market tightness; feeds Fed expectations. | 15:00 GMT 10 am ET | — | Medium |
| Wed Nov 4 | US midterm election results (polls close Nov 3, 7 pm–1 am ET) Policy and deficit expectations; results arrive in the thin Asian session. | 00:00 GMT 7 pm (Tue) ET | — | High |
| Thu Nov 5 | Bank of England rate decision Moves GBP and the dollar index. | 12:00 GMT 7 am ET | — | Medium |
| Fri Nov 6 | US jobs report (NFP, October) Strong jobs and wages raise hike odds; often a $30–50 gold move. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Tue Nov 10 | US CPI (October) Headline inflation; the September print knocked gold to $4,073. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Fri Nov 13 | US PPI (October) Pipeline inflation; September PPI ran at 6.3%. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | Medium |
| Wed Nov 18 | FOMC minutes (October meeting) Detail on how many officials want more hikes. | 19:00 GMT 2 pm ET | — | Medium |
| Wed Nov 25 | US Q3 GDP (second estimate) and October PCE inflation Fed's preferred inflation gauge ahead of the December meeting. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Thu Nov 26 | US Thanksgiving holiday US markets closed; thin liquidity can cause sudden spikes. | 12:00 GMT 7 am ET | — | Info |
| Tue Dec 1 | US JOLTS job openings (October) Labour-market tightness ahead of NFP. | 15:00 GMT 10 am ET | — | Medium |
| Fri Dec 4 | US jobs report (NFP, November) Last jobs report before the December Fed decision. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Wed Dec 9 | FOMC decision, projections and dot plot Markets price a high chance of another hike; new rate projections for 2027. | 19:00 GMT 2 pm ET | — | High |
| Thu Dec 10 | US CPI (November) Lands the day after the Fed; can reverse the post-Fed move. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Tue Dec 15 | US PPI (November) Pipeline inflation. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | Medium |
| Thu Dec 17 | Bank of England rate decision Moves GBP and the dollar index. | 12:00 GMT 7 am ET | — | Medium |
| Thu Dec 17 | ECB rate decision Moves EUR, the biggest weight in the dollar index. | 13:15 GMT 8:15 am ET | — | Medium |
| Fri Dec 18 | Bank of Japan decision (time not fixed) Yen and global yields. | 03:00 GMT 10 pm (Thu) ET | — | Medium |
| Wed Dec 23 | US November PCE inflation and Q3 GDP (third estimate) Final major US inflation print of 2026; thin pre-holiday liquidity. | 13:30 GMT 8:30 am ET | — | High |
| Fri Dec 25 | Christmas Day Most markets closed; very thin liquidity around the holiday. | 12:00 GMT 7 am ET | — | Info |
Dates from official schedules: US Bureau of Labor Statistics release schedule · Federal Reserve FOMC calendar · US Bureau of Economic Analysis release schedule · ECB meeting calendar · Bank of England MPC dates. Bank of Japan decisions have no fixed time. Schedules can change; the live calendar below updates automatically.
Scheduled releases and central-bank events with forecast, previous and actual figures. High-impact US data — inflation, jobs and Federal Reserve decisions — tends to matter most for gold. Times are shown in your local time zone.
Economic calendar provided by an embedded TradingView widget. Event times, forecasts and results come from the provider and may change; XAUUSD Global does not produce or verify them.
Headlines collected automatically every hour from public RSS feeds and filtered for gold, the Federal Reserve, inflation, the US dollar and yields. Each card links to the original publisher — read the full story at the source.
Headlines, excerpts and trademarks belong to their respective publishers. Inclusion of a headline is not an endorsement of its content and is not financial advice.
From a record near $5,589 in January to the September Fed hike and October's hot inflation data: every major event that moved gold this year, newest first.
Markets trim bets on an October hike to about 16%, while a December hike stays priced near 89%. The dollar index falls to around 101.6. The Fed enters its pre-meeting blackout.
September PPI confirms the hot CPI message and keeps pressure on the Fed ahead of October 28.
September CPI rises 0.6% on the month and 3.7% on the year, with energy up 5.2%. Gold drops about 2% to a low near $4,073 as October hike odds jump from roughly 22% to 42%.
After the Fed hike, Goldman Sachs cuts its end-2026 gold forecast to $4,650 from $4,900 but keeps $5,400 for end-2027, arguing hikes delay the rally rather than end it.
The FOMC votes 12–0 to lift the target range by 0.25% to 3.75–4.00%, and most officials expect another hike before the end of 2026.
Gold ETF flows turn positive in mid-August, led by Europe, and gold recovers toward $4,500 by late August before slipping back in September.
Rates stay at 3.50–3.75%. The dissents show hike pressure building as oil-driven inflation persists.
Gold trades near $4,038 on July 13 and sets the year's low in July (about $3,940–4,040 depending on the data feed). Q2 data later show central banks bought 289 tonnes, led by Poland (51 t) and China (33 t), while Western ETFs sold about 45 tonnes.
Down more than 20% from its peak, gold closes below its 200-day moving average for the first time since October 2023. The Fed holds at its June meeting while markets price hikes later in the year.
US inflation climbs back above 4% on energy prices. Markets go from expecting Fed cuts at the start of the year to pricing hikes. The Fed holds in March and May.
Oil surges in the first full week of March as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stops. Fear supports gold, but the inflation shock pushes yields higher.
Brent crude rises from about $71 to $77 within days and later tops $100 a barrel. The safe-haven bid in gold fades as markets focus on the inflation risk.
As Kevin Warsh is named as the next Fed chair pick and the dollar rebounds, spot gold falls as much as 9.5% from the prior day's record. Silver has its worst day on record. Leveraged positions unwind and margin calls cascade.
Gold tops out near $5,589–5,595 an ounce at the end of its best month since 1980, after an almost vertical run of about 18% in four weeks. The Fed holds rates at 3.50–3.75% at its January meeting.
Prices are approximate spot levels from public reporting and vary slightly between data feeds. For the analysis behind the moves, read why gold is down in 2026 and the gold price forecast for 2027.
Knowing why a type of event matters helps you decide whether to trade, wait, or reduce size around it.
Interest-rate decisions, the statement, the dot plot and press-conference tone change expectations for the path of US rates. Because gold pays no yield, a more hawkish outlook (higher rates for longer) often pressures gold through higher real yields and a firmer dollar, while a dovish shift can support it. The surprise relative to expectations matters more than the decision itself.
CPI, PCE and producer-price data influence how restrictive the Fed is expected to be. Gold is often described as an inflation hedge, but in the short term a hot inflation print can push gold lower if it raises rate expectations. Traders watch the reaction in yields and the dollar alongside gold.
Because XAUUSD is priced in dollars, broad dollar strength tends to make gold more expensive for non-dollar buyers and is often associated with weaker gold prices — though the relationship is not constant, and both can rise together during stress.
Real (inflation-adjusted) yields represent the return forgone by holding gold. Rising real yields have historically been a headwind for gold and falling real yields a tailwind, although that link has weakened or broken during some periods, including when central-bank buying was strong.
Wars, sanctions, elections and financial crises can increase demand for gold as a perceived safe haven. These moves are hard to predict, can reverse quickly when tensions ease, and are a reason to respect weekend gap risk.
Central banks are significant holders of gold. Reported purchases and sales — published with a lag by official sources and industry bodies — shape the long-term demand picture rather than intraday price action.
Positioning reports, ETF flows and technical analysis pieces help traders understand sentiment and key levels. Treat any outlook as one perspective, check the date, and compare it with your own analysis.
Our guides to trading gold on Fed day and trading gold on NFP day turn these rules into step-by-step routines, and risk management for volatile gold markets explains how to size positions when volatility jumps.
As of October 18, 2026, gold is trading in a $4,100–4,200 range ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on October 28. Hot US inflation (CPI 3.7%, PPI 6.3%) keeps hike pressure on the Fed, while a softer dollar and steady central bank buying stop gold from falling further.
Gold fell about 25% from its January record of roughly $5,589 because US interest rates and real yields rose. An oil shock pushed inflation back up, the Fed switched from expected cuts to an actual hike in September, and a crowded leveraged rally unwound fast.
The FOMC decision is on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 2:00 pm New York time (18:00 GMT), followed by the press conference. The next one after that is December 9, 2026, with new economic projections.
Federal Reserve decisions, US inflation data (CPI and PCE) and the monthly jobs report usually move gold the most, because they change expectations for interest rates and the dollar. Geopolitical shocks and central bank buying matter too, but their effect is less predictable.
Most major US data comes out at 8:30 am New York time. From November 1, 2026 that is 13:30 GMT, 17:30 in Dubai, 19:00 in India and 21:30 in Singapore. The calendar on this page shows every event in your own time zone.
Headlines refresh automatically every hour. The market snapshot, key levels, upcoming events and 2026 timeline are reviewed every week, and each Gold Week Ahead post covers the coming week in detail.
Is gold open right now? Live sessions in your time zone and the best time to trade today.
Enter your balance, risk % and stop-loss — get your gold lot size and risk-to-reward before you trade.