GoldInvesting
Gold price history since 1960
Monthly average gold prices in U.S. dollars per troy ounce, from January 1960 to September 2026. Hover or tap the chart to read any month. Today’s spot price is on the live board.
Source: World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), monthly average, U.S. dollars per troy ounce, retrieved October 17, 2026. Gold prices rise and fall. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
What did an ounce of gold cost in a given year?
Milestones in the record
Under the Bretton Woods system the dollar was fixed to gold at $35 an ounce, which is where this record begins. On August 15, 1971, President Nixon announced that foreign governments could no longer exchange their dollars for gold, and the price moved with the market from then on. In 1974 President Ford signed an act of Congress that again allowed U.S. citizens to own and deal in gold.
The table below gives each full year’s average, lowest and highest monthly average, and the change in the yearly average.
Gold price by year
| Year | Average | Low month | High month | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3,441.50 | $2,710.00 | $4,309.00 | +44.1% |
| 2024 | $2,387.58 | $2,023.00 | $2,690.00 | +22.9% |
| 2023 | $1,942.75 | $1,855.00 | $2,026.00 | +7.9% |
| 2022 | $1,800.75 | $1,664.00 | $1,948.00 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | $1,799.58 | $1,718.00 | $1,867.00 | +1.7% |
| 2020 | $1,770.25 | $1,561.00 | $1,969.00 | +27.1% |
| 2019 | $1,392.58 | $1,284.00 | $1,511.00 | +9.7% |
| 2018 | $1,269.25 | $1,198.00 | $1,335.00 | +0.9% |
| 2017 | $1,257.50 | $1,192.00 | $1,314.00 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | $1,249.00 | $1,098.00 | $1,340.00 | +7.6% |
| 2015 | $1,160.75 | $1,076.00 | $1,251.00 | -8.3% |
| 2014 | $1,265.58 | $1,175.00 | $1,336.00 | -10.3% |
| 2013 | $1,411.67 | $1,222.00 | $1,672.00 | -15.4% |
| 2012 | $1,669.58 | $1,589.00 | $1,747.00 | +6.4% |
| 2011 | $1,569.17 | $1,360.00 | $1,772.00 | +28.1% |
| 2010 | $1,224.67 | $1,095.00 | $1,391.00 | +25.9% |
| 2009 | $973.00 | $859.00 | $1,135.00 | +11.6% |
| 2008 | $871.75 | $761.00 | $968.00 | +25.1% |
| 2007 | $696.67 | $631.00 | $806.00 | +15.3% |
| 2006 | $604.42 | $550.00 | $675.00 | +35.9% |
| 2005 | $444.83 | $422.00 | $510.00 | +8.7% |
| 2004 | $409.17 | $384.00 | $442.00 | +12.5% |
| 2003 | $363.58 | $328.00 | $407.00 | +17.3% |
| 2002 | $310.00 | $282.00 | $332.00 | +14.5% |
| 2001 | $270.83 | $260.00 | $283.00 | -2.9% |
| 2000 | $279.00 | $266.00 | $300.00 | +0.1% |
| 1999 | $278.75 | $256.00 | $311.00 | -5.2% |
| 1998 | $294.08 | $284.00 | $308.00 | -11.2% |
| 1997 | $331.17 | $289.00 | $355.00 | -14.6% |
| 1996 | $387.58 | $369.00 | $405.00 | +0.9% |
| 1995 | $384.17 | $377.00 | $391.00 | +0.1% |
| 1994 | $383.92 | $377.00 | $392.00 | +6.7% |
| 1993 | $359.67 | $329.00 | $392.00 | +4.7% |
| 1992 | $343.67 | $335.00 | $354.00 | -5.1% |
| 1991 | $362.25 | $349.00 | $384.00 | -5.5% |
| 1990 | $383.50 | $352.00 | $417.00 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | $381.42 | $362.00 | $409.00 | -12.7% |
| 1988 | $437.08 | $407.00 | $477.00 | -2.1% |
| 1987 | $446.42 | $401.00 | $486.00 | +21.4% |
| 1986 | $367.75 | $339.00 | $424.00 | +15.6% |
| 1985 | $318.00 | $299.00 | $330.00 | -11.8% |
| 1984 | $360.50 | $320.00 | $394.00 | -14.7% |
| 1983 | $422.58 | $382.00 | $491.00 | +12.5% |
| 1982 | $375.75 | $315.00 | $445.00 | -18.3% |
| 1981 | $459.75 | $409.00 | $557.00 | -24.4% |
| 1980 | $607.83 | $514.00 | $675.00 | +98.2% |
| 1979 | $306.75 | $227.00 | $455.00 | +58.8% |
| 1978 | $193.17 | $173.00 | $227.00 | +30.8% |
| 1977 | $147.67 | $132.00 | $162.00 | +18.3% |
| 1976 | $124.83 | $110.00 | $134.00 | -22.4% |
| 1975 | $160.92 | $139.00 | $180.00 | +1.0% |
| 1974 | $159.25 | $129.00 | $184.00 | +63.6% |
| 1973 | $97.33 | $65.00 | $120.00 | +67.3% |
| 1972 | $58.17 | $46.00 | $67.00 | +42.2% |
| 1971 | $40.92 | $38.00 | $43.00 | +14.2% |
| 1970 | $35.83 | $35.00 | $38.00 | -12.4% |
| 1969 | $40.92 | $35.00 | $43.00 | +5.1% |
| 1968 | $38.92 | $36.00 | $41.00 | +11.2% |
| 1967 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 |
Monthly averages smooth out daily moves, so intraday highs and lows were further apart than this table shows.
What people ask about gold’s past prices
What was the price of gold in 1971?
See the table above: the 1971 row shows the yearly average from World Bank monthly data. Pick any year in the lookup to see its average.
What is the all-time high price of gold?
The highest monthly average in this record is shown in the chart’s “All” view. Daily and intraday highs are higher than monthly averages. For today’s price see the live board.
Why use monthly averages?
They are the longest consistent public record, and they show the trend without the noise of single days. The World Bank publishes them under an open license.
Sources and fact-check4 primary sources, checked October 17, 2026
- World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), monthly average, U.S. dollars per troy ounce, retrieved October 17, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
- Federal Reserve History: Nixon ends convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold.
- Federal Reserve History: Creation of the Bretton Woods System.
- Federal Reserve History: Gold Reserve Act of 1934.
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