price of gold

Descending Price Peaks In Latest Gold Charts

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The latest gold charts are pictured below and show a series of descending price peaks dating back to 1980. There are four charts. The first two charts are for the period following the August 2011 peak. The third and fourth charts are for the period after the gold price peaked in 1980. Prices on all charts are monthly average closing prices.

For example, the average closing price for gold in the month of January 1980 was $677 oz. This price ($677) is shown on Chart #3 below. During that same month, the intraday high for gold was $843 oz. The spike in price above $800 was very short-lived and not a reliable indicator of where gold traded during the month of January 1980. Average closing prices are more representative and more realistic for comparative purposes and analyses.

There are two charts for each time period. The first chart plots nominal prices; the second chart shows inflation-adjusted prices. Here is the first chart…

#1 Gold Prices August 2011-June 2024

The average closing price for gold in August 2011 was $1825 oz. After declining for more than four years, the gold price bottomed at $1060 oz. and began rising. The 2011 high was eclipsed and a new high price for gold was set at $1971 oz. in July 2020. After a sharp decline in 2022, the price of gold rose to another new high of $2327 oz., which is also the current closing price on June 28, 2024. The gold price has more than doubled (119%) since its December 2015 low.  That is quite impressive, but, there are some caveats.

Gold’s recent price performance, in total, looks very good if you are short-term oriented. The shouts of joy might be a bit overdone, though, if you have been holding gold since its peak in 2011. In that case, the total price increase for the entire thirteen-year period is only 27%. That is an annualized gain of 1.86%, which is more indicative of a slow-moving wagon, rather than a rocket ship in blastoff mode.

The numbers in both cases are made worse when the effects of inflation are factored in…

#2 Gold Prices (inflation-adjusted) August 2011-June 2024

In Chart #2, the effects of inflation have turned the 2011 high and subsequent new highs in 2020 and 2024 into a series of descending peaks. Each successive peak almost matches, but doesn’t quite reach the previous high point. The total gain of 119% referenced in Chart #1 is almost halved, down to 66%. The meager nominal price increase of 27% is now a net loss (-8%). The $1825 oz. nominal price peak in 2011 correlates to a real (inflation-adjusted) price of $2529 oz. in today’s cheaper dollar(s),

Now, let’s look at gold’s price performance over a longer time period. Here is Chart #3…

#3 Gold Prices January 1980-June 2024

When the gold price peaked in January 1980, it correlated to the effects of inflation that had depleted U.S. dollar purchasing power by 97% over the previous half-century. At $677 oz., the gold price was thirty-three times higher than it was when gold and the dollar were interchangeable, i.e., convertible, at a fixed ratio of $20.67 per ounce. The next major peak for the gold price was in 2011 at $1825 oz., followed by 2020 and 2024. Now, lets look at inflation-adjusted prices dating back to 1980…

#4 Gold Prices (inflation-adjusted) January 1980-June 2024 

In Chart #4, the ever-ascending nominal price increases shown previously in Chart #3 are more severely subdued when the effects of inflation are factored in. In addition, both volatility and time become more apparent.  While the nominal price of gold continues to rise reflecting actual loss of purchasing power in the U.S. dollar, the gold price in real (inflation-adjusted) terms has yet to exceed any of its previous price peaks; and likely never will. That is because gold’s value is in its use as money and is basically constant.

Each price peak in gold beginning in 1980 and including the peaks in 2011, 2020, and 2024 is a reflection of the intervening loss of purchasing power in the U.S. dollar since the previous peak.

CONCLUSION 

After allowing for the effects of inflation, an ounce of gold at $2400 today is no more valuable than it was at $2000 in 2020, or $1825 in 2011, or $677 in 1980. For that matter, the purchasing power of one ounce of gold is the about the same today as it was a century ago when it was priced at $20.67. In other words, if you bought gold at any of those prices and held it until now, you do not have real profits. The higher gold price is not a profit. It represents the dollar’s loss of purchasing power. (There are possible short-term trading opportunities for traders. See Understanding Profit Potential In Gold)

Gold is real money and a long-term store of value. Holding gold provides a measure of protection against depreciating currencies. Over time, the increasing price of gold matches the loss of purchasing power in the U.S. dollar that has already occurred. (also see Gold Has Done It’s Job – Isn’t That Enough?)

Kelsey Williams is the author of two books: INFLATION, WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR IT and ALL HAIL THE FED

Gold Is LITERALLY Priceless

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GOLD IS PRICELESS

Over 5000 years of recorded history, gold has proven itself to be real money. Gold’s value is in its use as money. That value is unquestioned.

Whatever arguments are put forth against gold’s use as money are attempts by government to free itself from the restrictions that gold imposes. Gold, when used properly,  limits the ability of government to inflate and debase its money.

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What’s Next For Gold Is Always About The US Dollar

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Since the origin of the Federal Reserve in 1913 the US dollar has lost ninety-nine percent of its purchasing power.

Not coincidentally, but in direct reflection of the dollar’s loss in purchasing power, the price of gold has multiplied one hundred fold from $20.67 oz to $2060 oz as of August 2020.

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Gold’s Singular Role

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When it comes to analyzing gold and gold prices there seems to be no limit to the explanations of cause and effect. The number of things presumed to be fundamental, or which are correlated to gold, has grown exponentially as gold receives more attention in the media and from the public.

The state of confusion that exists regarding gold and gold prices is exacerbated by the contradictions and conflicting arguments of almost all concerned parties. This includes  investors, traders, analysts, and brokers.

Rather than a desire to understand gold and its singular role, most investors and others are interested in gold only when its  price is going up. They buy it and then look for reasons to justify their expectations of even higher prices.

They do look for explanations as to why the price goes down, of course; especially when that happens after they have taken a position on the long side. By then, it is usually too late.

GOLD’S SINGULAR ROLE

There is one overriding fundamental with respect to gold: “GOLD IS REAL MONEY”.

Money has three specific characteristics: 1) medium of exchange; 2) measure of value; 3) store of value. In order for something to be money, it must have all three of these attributes. Otherwise, it is not money.

The US dollar is not money because it does not embody all three of the necessary characteristics. It is an accepted medium of exchange and a measure of value, but it is not a store of value.

Gold is also original money. It was money before the US dollar and all paper currencies, which are merely substitutes for real money; in other words, substitutes for gold.

Lots of things have been used as money during five thousand years of recorded history.  Only gold has stood the test of time.

WHAT GOLD IS NOT

The simplest, and most accurate way to say what gold is not, is to state emphatically: “GOLD IS NOTHING ELSE OTHER THAN MONEY’.

Gold is not an investment; nor is it a hedge. Gold is not insurance. Gold is not a safe haven. Gold is not silver’s handsome twin brother. Gold is not a barbarous relic. Gold is not an outdated earlier version of the cryptocurrency craze. Gold as money is not an idea whose time has come and gone. 

Gold is nothing other than money. Its use in jewelry is always secondary to its role as money. Gold is money that can be used for adornment, but it is still money, nonetheless. Always.

THE VALUE OF GOLD

The value of gold is in its role and use as money. It is divisible into fractional units for transaction purposes and is a proven store of value.

Gold’s value is constant and unchanging. One ounce of gold today will  purchase amounts of goods and services roughly equivalent to what it could have bought fifty, one hundred, or one thousand years ago.

The reason the value of gold does not change is because gold, itself, is unchangeable.

WHY DOES THE PRICE OF GOLD CHANGE? 

It is logical and reasonable to ask “If gold is unchangeable, and its value is constant, then why does its price change?

The changing price of gold is attributable to one thing only: changes in the value of the US dollar.

Over the past century, the US dollar has lost between ninety-eight and ninety-nine percent of its purchasing power. Correspondingly, the price of gold has increased by a multiple of fifty ($1050 per ounce) to one hundred ($2060 per ounce) times its original fixed and convertible price of $20.67 per ounce.

The chart (source) below shows a one hundred-year history of rising gold prices…

Over that same one hundred years, what you can  buy with an ounce of gold remains stable, or better.  (see my article A Loaf Of Bread, A Gallon Of Gas, An Ounce Of Gold)

SUMMARY

Gold’s singular role is its use as money. Gold is real money because it carries the qualifying characteristics of money, including that of a store of value.

The value of gold is directly attributable to its use as money. Gold’s value is constant and unchanging. The higher price of gold over time is a reflection of the ongoing loss in purchasing power of the US dollar.

Gold’s value is not determined by world events, political turmoil, or industrial demand. Gold is not correlated to interest rates or anything else. Gold is not a hedge or a safe haven; nor is it an investment.

Gold is real money and nothing else.

Kelsey Williams is the author of two books: INFLATION, WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR IT  and  ALL HAIL THE FED!

Gold And US Dollar Hegemony

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GOLD AND US DOLLAR HEGEMONY

The US dollar is the world’s reserve currency. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

All currencies are substitutes for real money, i.e. gold.  And because all governments inflate and destroy their own currencies, any potential alternatives to the US dollar are as bad or worse.

That doesn’t stop the dollar bashing, of course. In a general long-term sense, the condemnation is well-deserved. After all, the US dollar, under the care and watch keeping of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, has lost more than ninety-eight percent of its purchasing power.

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Does Demand For Gold Send Its Price Higher?

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DOES DEMAND FOR GOLD SEND ITS PRICE HIGHER?

Gold is original money. As such, it is the measure of value for everything else.

Gold was money before the US dollar and other paper currencies. All paper currencies are substitutes for gold, i.e., real money.

So, how much is money worth? Money is worth what you can buy with it. In my article A Loaf Of Bread, A Gallon Of Gas, An Ounce Of Gold, I compared the cost to purchase bread and gasoline over the past one hundred years using US dollars vs. gold.

The article illustrates the single reason that separates gold from all other forms of money: gold is a store of value; nothing else is. 

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Gold – Bullish Or Bearish?

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GOLD – BULLISH OR BEARISH?

What does it mean to say that one is “bullish” on gold? Or “bearish”? Or, more simply, what is a bull or a bear?

“A bull is an investor who thinks the market, a specific security or an industry is poised to rise. Investors who adopt a bull approach purchase securities under the assumption that they can sell them later at a higher price. Bulls are optimistic investors who are attempting to profit from the upward movement of stocks, with certain strategies suited to that theory. …James Chen, Investopedia

According to the definition, then, being bullish on gold is an indication that an investor can optimistically purchase gold and expect to sell it later at a higher price for a profit. 

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Gold Price Is Not About Gold

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The gold price is not about gold. In fact, it tells us nothing about gold.

So why are people so obsessed with the price of gold? In most cases, it is because people likely view gold as an investment opportunity. “How much can I make and how quickly?”

However, the question which continues to plague gold investors and others is “Why didn’t gold respond the way we expected?”

The answer is found in the term unrealistic expectations. 

When gold is characterized as an investment, the incorrect assumption leads to unexpected results regardless of the logic. If the basic premise is incorrect, even the best, most technically perfect logic will not lead to results that are consistent.

Here are some examples of inconsistencies when viewed through the lens of faulty logic based on incorrect assumptions…

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Expectations For Higher Gold Prices – Fly In The Ointment

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Expecting higher gold prices? Read on…

From Wikipedia:

“In English, the phrase fly in the ointment is an idiomatic expression for a drawback, especially one that was not at first apparent, e.g.

     We had a cookstove, beans, and plates; the fly in the ointment was the lack of a can opener.” 

For four centuries, ‘a fly in the ointment’ has meant a small defect that spoils something valuable or is a source of annoyance. The modern version thus suggests that something unpleasant may come or has come to light in a proposition or condition that is almost too pleasing; that there is something wrong hidden, unexpected somewhere.”

In general, with gold prices currently at $1500-1600 per ounce, the expectation among participants in the gold trade today is for much higher gold prices going forward. And most of them, I think, seem to believe it will happen sooner, rather than later; and quickly, too.

Their enthusiasm rests on two assumptions: 1) That the new unlimited amounts of cheap credit made available by the Federal Reserve is hugely inflationary. 2) That the effects of the inflationary avalanche will destroy the US dollar, thus resulting in higher gold prices.

On the surface, both statements are logical and rooted in correct fundaments. But there is a fly in the ointment.

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$1500 Gold Price Is Fair And Accurate

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Is $1500 a reasonable price for gold? Some of the more ardent gold “bulls” might say no. A price of $2000 per ounce should sound better to them. That particular number is likely more popular because gold’s price didn’t quite get there eight years ago, stopping just shy of $1900 per ounce.

Similar behavior occurred after 1980, when gold’s price assent was stopped at $850. At that time, $1000 became the price projection of choice.

In both cases, the expectations for gold were likely born out of desire, rather than fundamentals.

So, how can we know what is a fair and accurate price for gold today – right now?

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