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Gold price history
Gold's price from 1960 to today: yearly averages, the all-time high, and the big moments that moved it.
All-time high
$5,595 an ounce
Set during trading on 29 January 2026.
Gold now: …
Gold price, 1960 to 2026
Yearly averages. Log scale, so each step up the chart is the same percentage rise.
Big moments
- 1971: The US ended the dollar's link to gold in August 1971. From then on, the gold price could float freely.
- 1974: Private Americans were allowed to own gold bullion again from 31 December 1974.
- 1980: Gold hit about $850 in January 1980, as inflation ran in double figures. Gold did not pass that level again until 2008.
- 1999: Gold sank to about $250, its lowest in 20 years. The UK sold about half its gold reserves between 1999 and 2002.
- 2008: The global financial crisis. Gold fell at first as investors sold everything, then recovered strongly.
- 2011: Gold hit a record of about $1,900 in September 2011, after the financial crisis and the US debt-ceiling fight.
- 2013: Gold fell about 28% across the year, its biggest yearly drop in decades, as the Fed signalled less support.
- 2015: Gold fell to about $1,050 in December 2015, its lowest in six years, as the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2006.
- 2020: Covid. Gold passed $2,000 for the first time in August 2020, as interest rates fell to near zero.
- 2022: Gold stayed fairly flat while the Fed raised rates fast. A strong dollar held it back.
- 2024: Gold set record after record, helped by central banks buying and the Fed starting to cut rates.
- 2025: Another year of records. Gold passed $4,000 in October 2025.
- 2026: Gold passed $5,000 for the first time and set its all-time high, about $5,595 an ounce, during trading on 29 January 2026. It then fell back as US bond rates climbed and the Fed raised rates in September.
By decade
| Decade | First year (avg) | Last year (avg) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | $35 | $41 | +16.3% |
| 1970s | $36 | $307 | +756.0% |
| 1980s | $608 | $381 | −37.2% |
| 1990s | $384 | $279 | −27.3% |
| 2000s | $279 | $973 | +248.7% |
| 2010s | $1,225 | $1,393 | +13.7% |
| 2020s | $1,770 | $4,552 | +157.1% |
Every year
| Year | Average price | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | $4,552 | +32.3% |
| 2025 | $3,442 | +44.1% |
| 2024 | $2,388 | +22.9% |
| 2023 | $1,943 | +7.9% |
| 2022 | $1,801 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | $1,800 | +1.7% |
| 2020 | $1,770 | +27.1% |
| 2019 | $1,393 | +9.7% |
| 2018 | $1,269 | +0.9% |
| 2017 | $1,258 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | $1,249 | +7.6% |
| 2015 | $1,161 | −8.3% |
| 2014 | $1,266 | −10.3% |
| 2013 | $1,412 | −15.4% |
| 2012 | $1,670 | +6.4% |
| 2011 | $1,569 | +28.1% |
| 2010 | $1,225 | +25.9% |
| 2009 | $973 | +11.6% |
| 2008 | $872 | +25.1% |
| 2007 | $697 | +15.3% |
| 2006 | $604 | +35.9% |
| 2005 | $445 | +8.7% |
| 2004 | $409 | +12.5% |
| 2003 | $364 | +17.3% |
| 2002 | $310 | +14.5% |
| 2001 | $271 | −2.9% |
| 2000 | $279 | +0.1% |
| 1999 | $279 | −5.2% |
| 1998 | $294 | −11.2% |
| 1997 | $331 | −14.6% |
| 1996 | $388 | +0.9% |
| 1995 | $384 | +0.1% |
| 1994 | $384 | +6.7% |
| 1993 | $360 | +4.7% |
| 1992 | $344 | −5.1% |
| 1991 | $362 | −5.5% |
| 1990 | $384 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | $381 | −12.7% |
| 1988 | $437 | −2.1% |
| 1987 | $446 | +21.4% |
| 1986 | $368 | +15.6% |
| 1985 | $318 | −11.8% |
| 1984 | $360 | −14.7% |
| 1983 | $423 | +12.5% |
| 1982 | $376 | −18.3% |
| 1981 | $460 | −24.4% |
| 1980 | $608 | +98.2% |
| 1979 | $307 | +58.8% |
| 1978 | $193 | +30.8% |
| 1977 | $148 | +18.3% |
| 1976 | $125 | −22.4% |
| 1975 | $161 | +1.0% |
| 1974 | $159 | +63.6% |
| 1973 | $97 | +67.3% |
| 1972 | $58 | +42.2% |
| 1971 | $41 | +14.2% |
| 1970 | $36 | −12.4% |
| 1969 | $41 | +5.1% |
| 1968 | $39 | +11.2% |
| 1967 | $35 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | $35 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | $35 | −0.0% |
| 1964 | $35 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | $35 | −0.2% |
| 1962 | $35 | +0.1% |
| 1961 | $35 | −0.5% |
| 1960 | $35 | – |
Yearly and monthly figures are averages of daily prices, in US dollars per troy ounce. Source: World Bank Commodity Markets (Pink Sheet), CC BY 4.0, via the open gold-prices dataset. Daily highs and lows were higher and lower than the monthly averages. Latest month in the data: September 2026.
Questions people ask
What is the highest gold price ever?
The all-time high is about $5,595 an ounce, during trading on 29 January 2026 (some price feeds show 28 January). The highest monthly average was $5,020 in February 2026.
What was the gold price in 1980?
It averaged about $608 an ounce across 1980, after a spike to about $850 in January. Gold price in 1980.
How much has gold gone up since 2000?
Gold averaged about $279 in 2000 and $4,552 in 2026 so far: roughly 16 times higher. Past moves don't tell you what gold will do next.
Why does the gold price change?
Mostly because of US interest rates, the dollar, inflation, fear and big buyers like central banks. What moves gold.
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