Gold's All-Time High, Nominal and Inflation-Adjusted

The record: $5,405 on 29 January 2026

The benchmark record for gold is $5,405.00 an ounce, the LBMA Gold Price PM of 29 January 2026. The PM price is the afternoon benchmark set in London, and it is the series the World Gold Council uses for its record tables. Its September 2026 market commentary still lists $5,405 on 29 January as the US dollar high.

Other numbers get quoted as the record, and each measures something different.

The intraday figure comes from the spot market, which trades around the clock; the World Gold Council's mid-year outlook gives $5,595.47. The monthly average, from the World Bank's commodity price data, smooths out single days, which is why it peaked in February even though the single-day record came in January.

January was the month of the run. Gold rose 14%, crossed $5,000 for the first time, set 12 all-time highs and closed the month at $4,982 after large intraday swings on its last two days, the Council reported. February added another 5%, to $5,222 at month end, without beating the January peak.

Gold's all-time high in today's dollars

The previous landmark was $850 an ounce on 21 January 1980, the daily high recorded by the US Geological Survey. Restated with the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (CPI-U) to September 2026, the latest month published, it comes to about $3,681. The January 2026 record, restated the same way, is about $5,599. The 2026 peak is therefore the highest in real terms as well as in dollars of the day.

The arithmetic: multiply the old price by the September 2026 index (336.94) and divide by the index for the month of the peak (77.8 for January 1980).

The 2011 and 2020 records were new highs in nominal dollars only. Both fell short of 1980 once prices are adjusted.

Monthly averages tell the same story more slowly. Gold averaged $675.31 in January 1980, which is $2,925 in September 2026 dollars. The monthly average did not climb back above that real level until February 2025, 45 years later, and did not pass the $3,681 real value of the 1980 daily high until September 2025.

At the 27 October 2026 settlement of $4,074.60, gold sits about 11% above the 1980 high in real terms while standing about 25% below its January record in nominal terms. Our gold price history charts show both series year by year back to 1900, and the inflation calculator applies the same CPI arithmetic to any dollar amount.

Past records and the falls that followed

Gold has set a high and then given back a large share of it many times since the United States closed the gold window in August 1971. The table uses World Bank monthly averages and lists each record month that was followed by a fall of at least 15% before the next record.

The recoveries took longer than the falls. The January 1980 monthly average was not exceeded until May 2006, more than 26 years later. The September 2011 peak held until July 2020, and the August 2020 peak until April 2023.

The 1980 episode was far deeper in real terms. Measured in September 2026 dollars, the monthly average fell from $2,925 in January 1980 to $496 in April 2001, a fall of 83% in real terms over 21 years.

Daily prices show sharper swings than monthly averages. The World Gold Council counts eight episodes since 1971 in which gold fell more than 20% after a record high, with an average fall of 36% and a median of 29%, using data to 26 June 2026 and leaving out the current decline. In the first half of 2026 the benchmark fell as low as $4,001.80, on 25 June, 26% below the record.

What has moved gold since the record

On the benchmark, gold has traded between $5,405 and $4,001.80 since 29 January, a range of more than $1,400. The World Gold Council's monthly commentaries give the month-end prices.

The Council's own account of the larger moves:

• March, down 12%, the weakest month since June 2013. Most of the drop came from momentum selling: global gold ETFs shed $12 billion (84 tonnes), led by North America, and COMEX net long positions were unwound. A stronger dollar and higher yields added to it. Turkey's central bank used about 50 tonnes of gold as collateral, mostly through swaps, which fed rumours of selling; the Council read it as a need for liquidity and not a change of strategy.
• April to June, a drift lower that took gold briefly under $4,000 intraday in late June. In April the Council noted that markets were treating the Strait of Hormuz closure as temporary and had pushed out expected rate cuts. By late June its weekly report cited a stronger dollar, ETF outflows and rising expectations of Fed tightening.
• August, up 13%, the third-largest monthly gain in a quarter century, on broad ETF buying and a weaker dollar.
• September, down 8.5%, as the 10-year Treasury yield rose 53 basis points to 5.3% and the dollar index gained 2%. ETFs still took in $10 billion (67 tonnes), while futures traders cut net long positions by 84 tonnes.

The longer story of the rally from 2024, including central bank buying and the dollar, is in why gold has been going up.

Where gold stands now

The December COMEX contract settled at $4,074.60 on 27 October 2026. That is 24.6% below the $5,405 record and about 11% above the 1980 high in today's dollars. The World Bank's average for September 2026 was $4,319, 14% below the February peak month.

The current fall, 25% at the latest settlement and 26% at the June low, is a little short of the 29% median the World Gold Council found for past falls of more than 20%. The Council adds that historical patterns do not rule out larger or longer corrections, and the 1980 case shows how long a recovery can take.

On the Council's reading of this year, three things have moved the price most:

• Treasury yields and the dollar. The Council's attribution model named both as the main reasons for September's drop.
• ETF flows. They drove the March fall and the August rally, and the World Gold Council reports them monthly.
• Central bank buying. Purchases have averaged about 1,000 tonnes a year since 2022, the Council says, though some central banks sold or swapped gold in the first quarter of 2026.

Silver has fallen further from its own January peak, and the gold-silver ratio stood at 74.7 on the 27 October settlements. For the other metal's record and its 1980 high, see silver's all-time high.