World Monitor
The world events that actually move gold, oil and the dollar — on one page, refreshed continuously. Built for traders who want the context behind a candle, not a headline feed.
- Gold+0.57%Bid for the classic haven · pushes risk-off
- S&P 500+0.36%Equity risk appetite · pushes risk-on
- Dollar Index-0.51%Dollar as a safety bid · pushes risk-on
- US 10Y Yield-0.06%Falling yields = flight to bonds · pushes risk-off
- Brent Crude-0.44%Supply-shock premium · pushes risk-on
- VIX level-7.83%Volatility at 14.2 (12 calm → 30 stressed) · pushes risk-off
This is a transparent weighted average of the six inputs above, not a model or a forecast. It describes what markets have already done today. Treat it as context for your own analysis, never as a trade signal.
Where the pressure is
Six maritime chokepoints, the trade lanes they connect, live air traffic over the Persian Gulf, and every magnitude 4.5+ earthquake in the last 24 hours. Switch layers on and off below; tap or hover a marker or route for detail. On a phone the map scrolls sideways.
The dashed ring marks the only area where flights are tracked — community ADS-B has almost no receivers over the Red Sea, so we plot the Gulf rather than show a gap that would look like closed airspace.
The instruments that carry the story
Change is measured against the previous session close, so an overnight gap shows up immediately rather than being averaged away.
Precious metals
The reference safe haven — rises when the world looks unsafe.
Half haven, half industrial metal, so it moves on both stories.
Energy
US oil benchmark. Supply scares show up here first.
The seaborne benchmark — most exposed to shipping disruption.
Weather and pipeline politics; drives European inflation prints.
Macro and risk
The other side of every FX pair you trade.
Equity fear gauge. Above 20 means positioning is getting nervous.
Broad risk appetite in one number.
Falling yields with rising gold is a classic flight to safety.
Majors and crypto
FX = ECB reference rates for 2026-08-14 (daily, not tick)Six straits that price energy
These readings are news coverage volume — how many articles Google News indexed naming each chokepoint in the last 48 hours. That is a proxy for attention, not a measurement of traffic: this page has no vessel tracking, and it will say “no data” rather than guess when a reading fails.
Latest: “Shipping slows through Strait of Hormuz after tanker attacks, data shows”
Roughly a fifth of world oil passes here. Any closure threat puts an instant premium on crude and gold.
Latest: “Bab el-Mandeb Strait faces growing threat as Houthi attacks raise fears of a second Hormuz”
Gateway to Suez. Attacks here reroute ships around Africa, adding two weeks and lifting freight and Brent.
Latest: “After Hormuz, China looks to the promise – and peril – of the Arctic’s ‘ice silk road’”
The Europe–Asia shortcut. A blockage tightens European energy and container rates within days.
Latest: “Opinion | Chokepoints and the cost of cutting off access”
The busiest oil route on earth and China's main import lane. Disruption is an Asia-wide growth story.
Latest: “Mexico’s “Dry Canal” Offers Panama Alternative as Wait Times Soar”
Drought cuts daily transits, which shows up in US grain and LPG freight rather than crude.
Latest: “Russia seeks to turn Black Sea into tool of pressure and intimidation – Sybiha”
Russian and Caspian crude plus Black Sea grain exit here — a wheat and energy channel at once.
High-impact releases
Medium and high impact events for the major currencies, in your local time zone.
- CAD12:30 PMTodayCPI m/mforecast 0.4% · previous -0.4%
- CAD12:30 PMTodayMedian CPI y/yforecast 2.0% · previous 1.9%
- CAD12:30 PMTodayTrimmed CPI y/yforecast 1.8% · previous 1.8%
- CAD12:30 PMTodayCommon CPI y/yforecast 2.5% · previous 2.6%
- GBP06:00 AMTomorrowClaimant Count Changeforecast 11.2K · previous 6.7K
- GBP06:00 AMTomorrowAverage Earnings Index 3m/yforecast 4.0% · previous 4.3%
- AUD01:30 AMWed, Aug 19Wage Price Index q/qforecast 0.8% · previous 0.8%
- GBP06:00 AMWed, Aug 19CPI y/yforecast 2.9% · previous 2.6%
Earthquakes, last 24h
Magnitude 4.5 and above from USGS. Relevant when it hits a mining region, a refinery corridor or an insurance market.
- M5.765 km NNW of Ende, Indonesia5h ago
- M5.576 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia23h ago
- M5.368 km NNW of Ende, Indonesia2h ago
- M5.375 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia19h ago
- M5.270 km NNW of Ende, Indonesia2h ago
- M5.267 km WSW of Puerto Madero, Mexico14h ago
Conflict, sanctions, energy, central banks
Sourced from Google News. Headlines link out to the original publisher — we host none of this text and rank nothing.
- Israel Kills Two Hezbollah Commanders in Lebanon as US-Iran Ceasefire Nears ExpirationConflict & securitySOFX· 31m ago
- EU plans most far-reaching sanctions package against Russia in autumn, foreign chief saysSanctions & tradeReuters· 5h ago
- Upstream revival drives 20% surge in oil rig countEnergy supplyBusiness News Nigeria· 1h ago
- Goldman Says Markets Too Hawkish on Betting Fed Will Hike RatesCentral banksBloomberg.com· 1h ago
- War in Ukraine most likely to end with ceasefire, not peace – Dutch diplomatConflict & securityUkrinform· 2h ago
- Watch Israel Strikes Lebanon as US Prepares New Iran SanctionsSanctions & tradeBloomberg.com· 6h ago
- How China’s Green Transition is Breaking OPEC’s LeverageEnergy supplyInformed Comment· 1h ago
- Inflation Survival Guide: How the Combination of US Growth and SG Payouts Protects Purchasing PowerCentral bankssg.finance.yahoo.com· 2h ago
- Israeli army attacks town in southern Lebanon despite ceasefireConflict & securityAnadolu Ajansı· 4h ago
- Israel strikes Lebanon as US preps fresh Iran sanctions packageSanctions & tradeunionleader.com· 7h ago
- Viva Energy on the prowlEnergy supplyThe Australian· 3h ago
- Gold gains on weaker dollar, reduced Fed rate-hike betsCentral banksReuters· 2h ago
Signed in, you get the full lists
This page shows a trimmed view. A free account opens the whole week's calendar, every earthquake in the feed, the full headline set, and CSV export for any of them. No card, no trial clock — the same free account that runs the trade copier.
Where every number comes from
No proprietary feed, no black box. Each source below is public and free, and you can check any figure against it yourself.
Context, not signals
Most of what moves gold and oil intraday is not on a chart. A tanker rerouted around Africa, a rate decision that lands two basis points off consensus, a strike on a refinery — these show up in price long before they show up in the analysis you read the next morning.
This page collects the signals that have a plausible, direct link to the instruments retail traders actually hold. It deliberately leaves out the impressive-looking layers that make no difference to a XAUUSD position: satellite tracks, military aircraft, subsea cables. Fewer things, each of which you can act on.
Three habits make it useful. Check the risk gauge before your session and note which component is driving it — a gauge pushed by a falling S&P reads very differently from one pushed by a spiking VIX. Scan the calendar for anything in your trading window. Glance at the chokepoints if you trade energy or gold, because coverage spikes there tend to precede the volatility rather than follow it.
And treat every number as context for your own analysis. Nothing here is a signal, and nothing here is advice.
Questions
What does the risk gauge actually measure?+
It is a weighted average of six market inputs — gold, the S&P 500, the dollar index, the US 10-year yield, Brent crude and the VIX — scored so that 0 is full risk-on and 100 is full risk-off. Every component and the direction it pushed is shown on the page. It describes what markets have already done today. It is not a forecast and not a trade signal.
Is the chokepoint status live vessel tracking?+
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. Live AIS vessel data is a paid commercial feed. What you see is news coverage volume — how many articles Google News indexed naming each chokepoint in the last 48 hours — which is a proxy for attention, not traffic. The feed caps at 100 articles, so a saturated count is shown as '100+' rather than a precise-looking figure. When a reading cannot be taken at all, the card says 'No data' instead of showing a reassuring 'Quiet'.
How often does the page update?+
Prices refresh every five minutes, earthquakes every ten, the economic calendar every thirty. News and chokepoint readings cycle continuously, each refreshing roughly every three minutes. The page itself re-fetches every sixty seconds and whenever you return to the tab, and every panel shows how old its data is.
Do I need an account?+
No. The full map, risk gauge, market tiles and chokepoint cards are open to everyone with no signup. A free account extends the calendar to the whole week, shows every earthquake and headline rather than a trimmed list, and adds CSV export.
Where does the data come from?+
Yahoo Finance for metals, energy, the dollar index, volatility and yields; the ECB via Frankfurter for FX reference rates; CoinGecko for crypto; USGS for earthquakes; Forex Factory for the economic calendar; and Google News for world headlines and coverage volume. All are public sources, listed on the page, so you can check any figure yourself.
Can I trade off this page?+
No. This is context, not advice. CopyConnectFX is a software provider — not a broker, fund manager or financial adviser — and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything.
The rest of the toolkit is free too
World Monitor sits alongside the local MT4/MT5 trade copier, verified track-record pages, TradingView alerts and the free calculators. One account, no card.