Between January 1971 and March 2024, gold had average annual returns of 7.98 percent, which was only slightly behind the return of commodities, with an annual average of eight percent. The annual average return of gold in 2023 was 13.1 percent. What is the total global demand for gold? The global demand for gold remains robust owing to its historical importance, financial stability, and cultural appeal. During economic uncertainty, investors look for a safe haven, while emerging markets fuel jewelry demand. A distinct contrast transpired during COVID-19, when the global demand for gold experienced a sharp decline in 2020 owing to a reduction in consumer spending. However, the subsequent years saw an increase in demand for the precious metal. How much gold is produced worldwide? The production of gold depends mainly on geological formations, market demand, and the cost of production. These factors have a significant impact on the discovery, extraction, and economic viability of gold mining operations worldwide. In 2024, the worldwide production of gold was expected to reach 124 million ounces, and it is anticipated that the rate of growth will increase as exploration technologies improve, gold prices rise, and mining practices improve.

As of December 2024, U.S. stocks had an average 10-year return rate of 13.1 percent, whereas gold had a return rate of 8.33 percent. Gold mining overview In light of recent technological advancements shaping the gold mining market, global gold production has been rather stable in the last few years, hovering around 3,000 metric tons since 2020. Among nations, Australia holds the highest gold production, surpassing countries with the highest mine gold reserves. Gold as a financial security Known for its ability to provide diversification to investment portfolios, gold has exhibited a positive trend in its Gold’s return rate was particularly high in the early 2000s, and, despite experiencing a decline during the pandemic, it demonstrated a remarkable recovery since. Furthermore, gold serves as a valuable asset for a nation's economic stability, with the United States holding the highest amount of

In 2023, gold generated positive investment returns. That year, the return on gold was around 13 percent. Moreover, the highest return was achieved by the Japanese stock market index, Nikkei 225, with a return of over 30 percent.

As of December 2024, gold had an average 20-year return rate of 9.47 percent, which was one percent below U.S. stocks with a rate of 10.27 percent.

Gold is the most popular precious metal in the investment industry. The rate of return for gold investments fluctuated significantly during the period from 2002 to 2024 but generated positive returns in most years of the observed period. The return of gold as an investment reached almost 27 percent in 2024, one of the highest recorded. Why is gold valuable? Gold is a precious metal with a number of practical uses, particularly in technology. For example, NASA uses gold to improve its lasers and protect sensitive things in space, including a part of the visor for its astronauts. However, a large share of the demand for gold worldwide is as an investment, particularly by central banks. Gold serves the purpose of an alternative to currency because it is relatively scarce but still has enough mine production to serve the financial sector. Gold as an investment Under the Bretton Woods agreement after World War II, the world’s major currencies were tied to the value of gold. This system, called the Gold Standard, ended in 1971. Still, most countries maintain significant gold reserves. Due to this history and the overall faith in the value of gold, the average gold price tends to increase in times of recession, making it an attractive investment in uncertain times.

Historical dataset of nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) gold prices per ounce back to 1915. The series is deflated using the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the most recent month as the base. The current month is updated on an hourly basis with today's latest value.

Gold increased 393.93 USD/t oz. or 15.01% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Gold - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Long term historical dataset of the NASDAQ Composite stock market index since 1971. Historical data is inflation-adjusted using the headline CPI and each data point represents the month-end closing value. The current month is updated on an hourly basis with today's latest value.

Dataset of historical annual gold prices from 1970 to 2024, including significant events and acts that impacted gold prices.

In 2023, the rate of return on gold was 13.1 percent, making gold the leading commodity based on return rate in that year. Natural resources like any other investments exhibit a wide range of fluctuations over time.

In 2023, one troy ounce of gold had an annual average price of 1,943.08 U.S. dollars. Gold market and industry From 2012 to 2018, the annual average gold price dropped from 1,668.98 U.S. dollars per troy ounce to 1,268.49 U.S. dollars per troy ounce, with a slight growth to approximately 1,400 U.S. dollars per troy ounce in 2019. In 2020 the figure rebounded to a record 1,769.64 U.S. dollars per ounce. The average price has grown significantly from the early 2000s with an annual average price of 279 U.S. dollars per troy ounce in 2001 up to the record high in 2020. Similarly, the costs of mining gold have risen considerably in recent years. In 2005, mining costs totaled 280 U.S. dollars per troy ounce and increased to 566 U.S. dollars per troy ounce in 2010. As of 2022, for example, Canadian company Barrick Gold reported an average realized gold price of 1,795 dollars per ounce. Gold pricing determinants Gold is a metal that is considered malleable, ductile, and is known for its bright lustrous yellow color. This transition metal is highly valued as a precious metal for its use in coins, jewelry, and in investments. Gold was also once used as a standard for monetary policies between different countries. The price of gold is determined by daily fixings where participants agree to buy or sell at a set price or to maintain the price through supply and demand control. For gold, companies like Barclays Capital, Scotia-Mocatta, Sociétè Générale, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank are members in gold fixing at the London Bullion Market Association.

Ten years of daily data for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) market index. Each point of the dataset is represented by the daily closing price for the DJIA. Historical data can be downloaded via the red button on the upper right corner of the chart.

The Precious Metals Production industry's revenue is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 21.5% over the five years through 2024-25 to £396.4 million. Soaring precious metal prices mean that smaller companies have been able to operate with only a handful of staff while still making enough money to keep going. However, as gold and silver are used less in film and digital technology, the amount of precious metals recoverable from scrap has fallen, raising purchasing costs and somewhat limiting growth. The Russia-Ukraine conflict disrupted metal supplies and caused inflation to soar, driving investors to precious metals as a traditional inflation hedge and causing the prices of gold and silver to hike by over 20% in 2023-24, while Platinum Group Metals prices inched down due to reduced investor demand. In 2024-25, gold and silver prices are reaching new highs as the perspective of interest rate cuts continues to drive demand from investors (as lower interest rates would mean other investments like bonds would yield lower returns). As a result of this, industry revenue is expected to swell by 15.9% in 2024-25, when industry profit is set to hit 2.7%. The Precious Metals Production industry's revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.4% over the five years through 2029-30 to £491.4 million. Silver is a key component in photovoltaic cells used in solar panels, so it's well set to benefit from the increased importance placed on renewable energy generation. However, manufacturers of photovoltaic cells are likely to lower the content of silver per cell to reduce costs, limiting the benefit for silver producers. Increased environmentalism also means that electric vehicles are likely to gain popularity, reducing the need for platinum group metals used in catalytic converters, while surging gold prices are set to normalise in the medium term, limiting revenue growth. A new gold mine in Scotland is likely to run for almost a decade, allowing primary refiners to set up in the UK.

Historical dataset of real (inflation-adjusted) silver prices per ounce back to 1915. The series is deflated using the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the most recent month as the base. The current month is updated on an hourly basis with today's latest value.

Silver increased 4.76 USD/t. oz or 16.49% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Silver - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Dataset of historical annual silver prices from 1970 to 2022, including significant events and acts that impacted silver prices.

The price of gold per troy ounce increased considerably between 1990 and 2024, despite some fluctuations. A troy ounce is the international common unit of weight used for precious metals and is approximately 31.3 grams. At the end of 2024, a troy ounce of gold cost 2,386.2 U.S. dollars. Price of – additional information In 2000 the price of gold was at its lowest since 1990, with a troy ounce of gold costing 274.5 U.S. dollars in that year. Since then gold prices have been rising and after the economic crisis of 2008 the price of gold rose at higher rates than ever before as the market began to see gold as an increasingly good investment. History has shown that time and time again, gold is seen as a good investment in times of uncertainty because it can or is thought to function as a good store of value against a declining currency as well as providing protection against inflation. However unlike other commodities, once gold is mined it does not get used up like other commodities (for example, such as gasoline). So while gold may be a good investment at times, the supply demand argument does not apply to gold. Nonetheless, the demand for gold has been mostly consistent.

In 2023, the average nominal price of silver in India was 61,981 Indian rupees for one kilogram, which was a decrease of over 14,000 rupees from the previous year. India was the world's 11th largest silver mining country as of 2021.