Without a doubt, more people follow the price of gold than any other commodity in the world, and with good reason. Gold, that archaic, barbaric precious metal men and women have coveted since the dawn of mankind, not only presents wonderful opportunities for making money, it also continues to have a major impact on currencies, interest rates, and markets across the globe.

Let’s start by looking at the relationship between gold and the dollar index, specifically the U.S. dollar. What seems to be going on is that gold can rally only so far above the U.S. dollar before it takes a tumble. It is difficult to see this relationship by looking at charts, but it is quite easy to see when you look at the spread relationship between these markets.