Gold price history since 1960
Monthly gold-price averages in US dollars per troy ounce, published by the World Bank from 1960 to the latest reported month. Compare them with today's spot price, long-term returns and a complete annual table of monthly averages.
Gold price performance
These returns use the latest World Bank monthly average as the endpoint, not the live price shown above. One month compares consecutive monthly averages; year to date compares the latest reported month with the previous December.
Historical gold price chart
The long-run line uses one World Bank monthly average and adds the current spot price at the right-hand edge when a current quote is available. The table and summary below remain purely monthly so the live quote cannot change a historical average.
The record contains 799 monthly gold averages from January 1960 to July 2026. Its highest monthly average was $5,020.00 in February 2026; the lowest was $35.00 in January 1960.
A monthly average smooths every daily move into one value; spot is a point-in-time quote. They measure different things, so the final chart segment should not be read as a monthly return. Read the complete history methodology.
Gold price by year
Annual return compares December's monthly average with the previous December; for the current year it compares the latest reported month with the previous December. Open a year for all monthly averages and month-to-month changes.
| Year | Annual average | Lowest month | Highest month | Final month | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | $4,605.43 | $4,073.00 | $5,020.00 | $4,073.00 | −5.48% |
| 2025 | $3,441.50 | $2,710.00 | $4,309.00 | $4,309.00 | +62.73% |
| 2024 | $2,387.58 | $2,023.00 | $2,690.00 | $2,648.00 | +30.70% |
| 2023 | $1,942.75 | $1,855.00 | $2,026.00 | $2,026.00 | +12.68% |
| 2022 | $1,800.75 | $1,664.00 | $1,948.00 | $1,798.00 | +0.45% |
| 2021 | $1,799.58 | $1,718.00 | $1,867.00 | $1,790.00 | −3.66% |
| 2020 | $1,770.25 | $1,561.00 | $1,969.00 | $1,858.00 | +25.63% |
| 2019 | $1,392.58 | $1,284.00 | $1,511.00 | $1,479.00 | +18.32% |
| 2018 | $1,269.25 | $1,198.00 | $1,335.00 | $1,250.00 | −1.11% |
| 2017 | $1,257.50 | $1,192.00 | $1,314.00 | $1,264.00 | +9.25% |
| 2016 | $1,249.00 | $1,098.00 | $1,340.00 | $1,157.00 | +7.53% |
| 2015 | $1,160.75 | $1,076.00 | $1,251.00 | $1,076.00 | −10.41% |
| 2014 | $1,265.58 | $1,175.00 | $1,336.00 | $1,201.00 | −1.72% |
| 2013 | $1,411.67 | $1,222.00 | $1,672.00 | $1,222.00 | −27.48% |
| 2012 | $1,669.58 | $1,589.00 | $1,747.00 | $1,685.00 | +2.74% |
| 2011 | $1,569.17 | $1,360.00 | $1,772.00 | $1,640.00 | +17.90% |
| 2010 | $1,224.67 | $1,095.00 | $1,391.00 | $1,391.00 | +22.56% |
| 2009 | $973.00 | $859.00 | $1,135.00 | $1,135.00 | +39.09% |
| 2008 | $871.75 | $761.00 | $968.00 | $816.00 | +1.62% |
| 2007 | $696.67 | $631.00 | $806.00 | $803.00 | +27.46% |
| 2006 | $604.42 | $550.00 | $675.00 | $630.00 | +23.53% |
| 2005 | $444.83 | $422.00 | $510.00 | $510.00 | +15.38% |
| 2004 | $409.17 | $384.00 | $442.00 | $442.00 | +8.60% |
| 2003 | $363.58 | $328.00 | $407.00 | $407.00 | +22.59% |
| 2002 | $310.00 | $282.00 | $332.00 | $332.00 | +20.29% |
| 2001 | $270.83 | $260.00 | $283.00 | $276.00 | +1.85% |
| 2000 | $279.00 | $266.00 | $300.00 | $271.00 | −4.24% |
| 1999 | $278.75 | $256.00 | $311.00 | $283.00 | −3.08% |
| 1998 | $294.08 | $284.00 | $308.00 | $292.00 | +1.04% |
| 1997 | $331.17 | $289.00 | $355.00 | $289.00 | −21.68% |
| 1996 | $387.58 | $369.00 | $405.00 | $369.00 | −4.65% |
| 1995 | $384.17 | $377.00 | $391.00 | $387.00 | +2.11% |
| 1994 | $383.92 | $377.00 | $392.00 | $379.00 | −1.04% |
| 1993 | $359.67 | $329.00 | $392.00 | $383.00 | +14.33% |
| 1992 | $343.67 | $335.00 | $354.00 | $335.00 | −7.46% |
| 1991 | $362.25 | $349.00 | $384.00 | $362.00 | −3.98% |
| 1990 | $383.50 | $352.00 | $417.00 | $377.00 | −7.82% |
| 1989 | $381.42 | $362.00 | $409.00 | $409.00 | −2.39% |
| 1988 | $437.08 | $407.00 | $477.00 | $419.00 | −13.79% |
| 1987 | $446.42 | $401.00 | $486.00 | $486.00 | +24.30% |
| 1986 | $367.75 | $339.00 | $424.00 | $391.00 | +21.43% |
| 1985 | $318.00 | $299.00 | $330.00 | $322.00 | +0.63% |
| 1984 | $360.50 | $320.00 | $394.00 | $320.00 | −17.53% |
| 1983 | $422.58 | $382.00 | $491.00 | $388.00 | −12.81% |
| 1982 | $375.75 | $315.00 | $445.00 | $445.00 | +8.54% |
| 1981 | $459.75 | $409.00 | $557.00 | $410.00 | −23.79% |
| 1980 | $607.83 | $514.00 | $675.00 | $538.00 | +18.24% |
| 1979 | $306.75 | $227.00 | $455.00 | $455.00 | +118.75% |
| 1978 | $193.17 | $173.00 | $227.00 | $208.00 | +30.00% |
| 1977 | $147.67 | $132.00 | $162.00 | $160.00 | +19.40% |
| 1976 | $124.83 | $110.00 | $134.00 | $134.00 | −3.60% |
| 1975 | $160.92 | $139.00 | $180.00 | $139.00 | −24.46% |
| 1974 | $159.25 | $129.00 | $184.00 | $184.00 | +71.96% |
| 1973 | $97.33 | $65.00 | $120.00 | $107.00 | +67.19% |
| 1972 | $58.17 | $46.00 | $67.00 | $64.00 | +48.84% |
| 1971 | $40.92 | $38.00 | $43.00 | $43.00 | +16.22% |
| 1970 | $35.83 | $35.00 | $38.00 | $37.00 | +5.71% |
| 1969 | $40.92 | $35.00 | $43.00 | $35.00 | −14.63% |
| 1968 | $38.92 | $36.00 | $41.00 | $41.00 | +17.14% |
| 1967 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1966 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1965 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1963 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1962 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1961 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | $35.00 | — |
Download and reuse
The monthly series is available as a machine-readable CSV under the same CC BY 4.0 attribution terms as the World Bank source dataset.
The file contains month and monthly-average USD per troy ounce. Source: World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet). Published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
How to interpret the annual figures
- Annual average is the arithmetic mean of the available monthly averages in that calendar year.
- Lowest and highest month identify monthly averages, not daily or intraday extremes.
- Final month is December for a completed year and the latest reported month for the current year.
- Return is price return only. It does not include storage, dealing costs, tax, currency movement outside USD, or income because bullion pays none.
Sources and limitations
Historical values come from the World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), licensed under CC BY 4.0. The World Bank defines gold as the spot average of daily rates from June 2025; earlier values are averages of the London afternoon fixing. Live spot comes from the separate intraday source in the sources table. No missing month is interpolated.
Past returns describe what happened to the USD gold price and do not predict future returns. They are not an investment recommendation. See the risk disclaimer.