Gold Price History · The Free-Float Era

2016

The Turn

After bottoming, gold rebounded sharply — with a Brexit shock for good measure.

Average price
$1,251/oz
In 2025 dollars
$1,678/oz
Change on the year
+7.8%
After inflation
+6.5%

2016 in context · real value, 1996–2025

200020102020 $1,678
Inflation-adjusted to 2025 dollars. See all 768 years →

2016 was gold's first strong year after the 2015 bottom, as the metal rebounded on a more cautious Federal Reserve and renewed uncertainty. The surprise Brexit referendum in June sent a jolt through markets and a bid into gold. Though the metal gave back some gains late in the year, 2016 confirmed that the post-2011 bear market had ended and a new, slower uptrend — one that would accelerate through the 2020 pandemic — had begun.

Key events of 2016

  1. 2016-06-23

    Brexit vote

    Britain votes to leave the EU; gold spikes on the shock.

What would $10,000 of gold in 2016 be worth today?

Run the numbers across gold, stocks, housing, and bonds — adjusted for inflation.

Calculate 2016 →

How gold did in 2016

Value at year-end of $10,000 invested on 1 January 2016.

Gold
$10,782 +7.8%
S&P 500 (total return)
$11,177 +11.8%
US housing
$10,539 +5.4%
Inflation (CPI)
$10,126 +1.3%

Annual-average basis. Gold: Officer & Williamson; S&P 500 & Treasuries: Damodaran (NYU); housing: Shiller; CPI: BLS. Methodology →

Related years

Sources. Gold price: Officer & Williamson, The Price of Gold, 1257–Present (annual average); inflation adjustment by US CPI (BLS / Officer & Williamson). Asset comparison from the calculator dataset. Figures are annual averages. Full methodology →