Predicting Gold Prices Through Machine Learning with Economic Indicators and Feature Selection Methods

Abstract

The enormous fluctuation of the gold price in international markets gives predictive analysis an indispensable place for business firms, economists, and investors. With this in mind, this research aims to construct a machine learning model for gold price prediction based on past information and identify some leading patterns affecting the prices of such a commodity. The model thus covers a range of related financial and economic factors, be it past gold prices and inflation metrics, oil price vagaries, worldwide market indexes, and interest rate movements. Using machine learning algorithm approaches like Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest, as well as Linear Regression approaches, the system is set to identify complex relationships prevailing in the data and provides predictions for short-term movements and long-term movements concerning price. The model will be trained and validated using historical data that includes the history of the gold price. In this respect, the findings of the study are relevant to stakeholders in financial forecasting who could make informed investment decisions. Additionally, the paper has outlined the method for feature selection that determines which factors are dominant in explaining the fluctuation of the gold price. The goal of the model, therefore, is to enhance its performance through prediction accuracy reduction in noise, recursive elimination of features, and application of correlation analysis. As a result, a robust evaluation of several machine algorithms, including support vector machines, allows the selection of a suitable model that best solves the prediction task. This approach to forecasting will therefore aid in the creation of instruments for risk management, automated trading techniques, and financial strategies for an individual as well as for organizations. Keywords: Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, machine learning, and gold price prediction; economic indicators, feature selection, and linear regression in the field of financial forecasting; erratic behaviour; and risk management.