Gold Price in 1979

In 1979, the price of gold averaged $307 per troy ounce, up 59.1% from the year before. This page covers the 1979 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that gold would be worth in today's dollars.

1979 Average

$307

LBMA annual average, USD/oz

Change vs 1978

+59.1%

from $193 in 1978

1979 High

$543

from daily trading data

1979 Low

$217

from daily trading data

Year-End Close

$541

last trading day of 1979

What happened to the gold price in 1979

Gold averaged $307 per troy ounce in 1979, surging 59.1% from the $193 average of 1978. Annual moves of that size are rare and put 1979 among the most explosive years in the metal's modern history. Daily trading data shows gold moved between a low of $217 and a high of $543 during the year, ending 1979 at $541. The defining story of 1979: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

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 1979 average of $307 equals about $1,363 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 1979?

Gold averaged $307 per troy ounce in 1979, based on LBMA annual average data. Daily prices ranged from a low of $217 to a high of $543, and the year closed at $541. That average was up 59.1% from $193 in 1978.

What is a 1979 gold price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, gold's 1979 average of $307 works out to roughly $1,363 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 1979?

The defining story of 1979: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 59.1%, from $193 in 1978 to $307.

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.