Should I trade gold during news releases?

Not the release itself. Holding through or entering into the print exposes you to spreads several dollars wide and unpredictable fills. The tradable entry is the first clean retracement or break-and-retest fifteen to ninety minutes later, once spreads have normalised.

Which news moves gold the most?

US CPI, Non-Farm Payrolls, FOMC decisions and the press conference, and PCE, plus unscheduled geopolitical or central-bank headlines. Second-tier data such as PPI, retail sales and ISM usually moves XAU within its normal daily range.

Why does gold spike then reverse after data?

The initial move is an algorithmic reflex to the headline number. The sustained move develops once the details — core versus headline, revisions, internals — are interpreted, which is why the first direction is frequently unwound within the hour.

Trading Gold on News: CPI, NFP and FOMC

Trading gold on news means avoiding the release itself: at 12:30 UTC XAUUSD spreads widen from around $0.20 to several dollars, liquidity thins and fills become unpredictable for up to a minute.

The tradable play is the second move — the first clean retracement into the post-release range, or a break-and-retest of the range extreme in the direction of the data surprise, taken fifteen to ninety minutes later.

Tier-one gold releases are US CPI, Non-Farm Payrolls, FOMC and PCE, and post-news trades should use half normal size because elevated ATR requires stops of roughly $8 to 5.