Gold Price in 1974

In 1974, the price of gold averaged $159 per troy ounce, up 63.9% from the year before. This page covers the 1974 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that gold would be worth in today's dollars.

1974 Average

$159

LBMA annual average, USD/oz

Change vs 1973

+63.9%

from $97 in 1973

1974 High

$196

from daily trading data

1974 Low

$117

from daily trading data

Year-End Close

$187

last trading day of 1974

What happened to the gold price in 1974

Gold averaged $159 per troy ounce in 1974, surging 63.9% from the $97 average of 1973. Annual moves of that size are rare and put 1974 among the most explosive years in the metal's modern history. Daily trading data shows gold moved between a low of $117 and a high of $196 during the year, ending 1974 at $187. The defining story of 1974: U.S. legalizes private gold ownership.

The 1970s were gold's first decade of free trading. After President Nixon ended the dollar's convertibility to gold in August 1971, runaway inflation, two oil shocks, and Cold War tensions carried the metal from $35 toward its January 1980 peak of $850 per ounce.

Adjusted for inflation, gold's 1974 average of $159 equals about $1,039 in today's dollars. The conversion uses US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the price of gold in 1974?

Gold averaged $159 per troy ounce in 1974, based on LBMA annual average data. Daily prices ranged from a low of $117 to a high of $196, and the year closed at $187. That average was up 63.9% from $97 in 1973.

What is a 1974 gold price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, gold's 1974 average of $159 works out to roughly $1,039 in today's dollars, using 2025 as the CPI base year. The conversion uses BLS CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

What moved the gold price in 1974?

The defining story of 1974: U.S. legalizes private gold ownership. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 63.9%, from $97 in 1973 to $159.

Annual averages are LBMA prices per troy ounce in US dollars. Where shown, the yearly high, low, and close come from MetalCharts daily historical data and may differ slightly from figures published elsewhere. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.