Gold prices regained some its lost ground after a four-week consecutive fall and settled in green zone on Friday. The yellow metal found traction as the US Dollar (USD) retreated from a 20-year high, which made precious metal less expensive for other currency holders. A weak Indian National Rupee (INR), which tested fresh lifetime lows, assisted gold with additional gains on the domestic exchanges like Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). Also, steep fall in the global equities furbished the safe-haven appeal of the metal amid worries about the global economic health.

Speaking on important gold price triggers that may dictate gold price in near term, Vipul Srivastava, Research Analyst — Metals & Energy Research at Religare Broking Ltd said, "Coming to key highlights to watch out for, dollar movement would be a key focus to gauge gold’s direction next week, while the performance of riskier assets would be on the radar. On Wednesday, the Fed will release the minutes of its latest meeting, which will be keenly watched by market participants to get further clues about interest rate hikes in the U.S. Later, we have U.S. first-quarter GDP data, which would provide insights into the economy and set the tone of bullion moving ahead."

Here we list out top 5 triggers that may dictate gold price in near term:

1] Dollar index: Movement in dollar will be worth watching as dollar index has shed from 105 levels to around 103. Further downside in dollar index may boost demand for precious metal.

2] US GDP first quarter data: "The US gross domestic product (GDP) data for first quarter is expected on 26th May 2022 i.e. Thursday next week. If the US GDP data comes below expectations, then in that case gold price rally may get further extended," said Anuj Gupta, Vice President — Research at IIFL Securities.

3] US Fed meeting: The officials of central bank of the United States of America are going to meet on Wednesday next week. Though they have already made an announcement that there will be 50 bps cut in interest rate, more clarity would come after the meeting.

4] Rupee vs dollar: Recently, Indian rupee hit its life-time low, which put some breaks on the gold rally. If the rupee gains its lost ground in upcoming times, then there can be some more upside taking place in gold price due to this domestic trigger.

5] Energy prices: "The rising energy prices remained a concern, which could again fuel gold demand as a hedge against inflation. The looming possibility of a European Union embargo on Russian oil imports, and easing lockdown restrictions in China could give a further boost to oil demand and its prices," said Vipul Srivastava of Religare Broking.