Gold price history
The average price of gold for every year since 1970, in US dollars per troy ounce. Today's spot price is $4,028.66.
The yearly average rose in 37 of the 55 years shown. The biggest gain came in 1980 (+100.3%) and the biggest drop in 1981 (-25.2%).
1971 to 1980: the dollar comes off gold
In August 1971 President Nixon ended the right of foreign governments to swap dollars for gold at $35 an ounce. Gold could now trade freely, and it did. Through the inflation of the 1970s the average price climbed from $41 in 1971 to $615 in 1980, when prices briefly spiked above $800 in January.
1981 to 2001: a twenty-year slide
Interest rates near 20% made cash pay better than metal. Gold drifted lower for two decades and averaged $271 in 2001, its lowest yearly figure since 1978. Several central banks sold reserves during the late 1990s, which added to the pressure.
2002 to 2012: the long climb
Gold rose in every one of those eleven years. Gold ETFs, launched in the mid-2000s, let ordinary investors buy bullion through a brokerage account. The 2008 financial crisis and the rate cuts that followed pushed demand higher, and gold peaked near $1,900 in September 2011.
2013 to 2018: the hangover
The 2013 average fell 15.5%, the steepest yearly drop since 1982, as investors sold ETF holdings. Prices then went mostly sideways, between roughly $1,160 and $1,270 a year.
2019 to today: records again
Gold passed $2,000 for the first time in August 2020. After a flat 2021 and 2022, the average rose 7.8% in 2023, 22.9% in 2024 and 43.8% in 2025. The World Gold Council reported that the LBMA price set 53 all-time highs during 2025 and averaged $4,135 in the fourth quarter.
Every year since 1970
| Year | Average per oz | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3,432 | +43.8% |
| 2024 | $2,386 | +22.9% |
| 2023 | $1,941 | +7.8% |
| 2022 | $1,800 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | $1,799 | +1.6% |
| 2020 | $1,770 | +27.1% |
| 2019 | $1,393 | +9.8% |
| 2018 | $1,269 | +1% |
| 2017 | $1,257 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | $1,251 | +7.8% |
| 2015 | $1,160 | -8.4% |
| 2014 | $1,266 | -10.3% |
| 2013 | $1,411 | -15.5% |
| 2012 | $1,669 | +6.2% |
| 2011 | $1,572 | +28.3% |
| 2010 | $1,225 | +26% |
| 2009 | $972 | +11.5% |
| 2008 | $872 | +25.5% |
| 2007 | $695 | +15.1% |
| 2006 | $604 | +36% |
| 2005 | $444 | +8.6% |
| 2004 | $409 | +12.7% |
| 2003 | $363 | +17.1% |
| 2002 | $310 | +14.4% |
| 2001 | $271 | -2.9% |
| 2000 | $279 | 0% |
| 1999 | $279 | -5.1% |
| 1998 | $294 | -11.2% |
| 1997 | $331 | -14.7% |
| 1996 | $388 | +1% |
| 1995 | $384 | 0% |
| 1994 | $384 | +6.7% |
| 1993 | $360 | +4.7% |
| 1992 | $344 | -5% |
| 1991 | $362 | -5.5% |
| 1990 | $383 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | $381 | -12.8% |
| 1988 | $437 | -2.2% |
| 1987 | $447 | +21.5% |
| 1986 | $368 | +16.1% |
| 1985 | $317 | -12.2% |
| 1984 | $361 | -14.9% |
| 1983 | $424 | +12.8% |
| 1982 | $376 | -18.3% |
| 1981 | $460 | -25.2% |
| 1980 | $615 | +100.3% |
| 1979 | $307 | +59.1% |
| 1978 | $193 | +30.4% |
| 1977 | $148 | +18.4% |
| 1976 | $125 | -22.4% |
| 1975 | $161 | +1.3% |
| 1974 | $159 | +63.9% |
| 1973 | $97 | +67.2% |
| 1972 | $58 | +41.5% |
| 1971 | $41 | +13.9% |
| 1970 | $36 |
LBMA Gold Price (PM) annual averages in US dollars, compiled by metalcharts.org. 2025 change and record count from the World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends full year 2025.
Common questions
- What was the average gold price in 2025?
- $3,432 per troy ounce, based on the LBMA Gold Price (PM). That was 43.8% above the 2024 average of $2,386 and the highest yearly average on record.
- Why use annual averages instead of year-end prices?
- A year-end price is one day's number, and it can land on a spike or a dip. The average of every trading day shows what gold cost across the whole year, which makes years easier to compare.
- Are these prices adjusted for inflation?
- No. Every figure is in nominal US dollars, the price people paid at the time. In 2025 dollars, the 1980 average of $615 works out to roughly $2,400.
- When did gold first pass $2,000 an ounce?
- In August 2020, during the first year of the pandemic. The 2020 yearly average was $1,770 because prices were lower in the first half of the year.