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A wild ride: gold crashed to about $297 in June 1982, then the Mexican debt crisis ignited a ferocious rally to $481 by September.
Monthly path for 1982, anchored to the real open ($ 398.00), the high in September, the low in June, and the close ($ 457.00). The dashed line marks the yearly average; intra-year movement between anchor points is illustrative.
Year-over-year, gold rose +14.82% versus its 1981 close of $ 398.00.
No year of the decade packed in more drama than 1982. Its first half completed the crash phase of the post-1980 bear market: with the Volcker Fed holding rates at punishing levels through a deep recession, gold broke below $300 in June — a two-thirds collapse from the January 1980 peak, and the moment of maximum despair for the metal.
Then the system itself began to crack. In August, Mexico told the world it could no longer pay its debts, threatening the money-center banks that had lent billions across Latin America. Suddenly gold’s crisis insurance was in demand again: the price roared more than 50% off its low to reach about $481 by September, one of the fastest rallies in its history. It closed the year near $457 — up almost 15% in twelve months that had contained both a crash and a panic buying wave.
Gold collapsed below $300 in June — down two-thirds from the 1980 peak — as brutal real interest rates bit.
Mexico announced in August it could not service its foreign debt, igniting the Latin American debt crisis.
Fear of a banking system crisis sent gold surging more than 50% off its June low within months.
The Fed began easing late in the year, and the great equity bull market was born that August.
Gold averaged about $376 per ounce in 1982 but swung violently — from a June low near $297 to a September high around $481 — and closed the year near $457.
The Mexican default of August 1982 set off the Latin American debt crisis, raising fears for the banking system and triggering a rush back into gold just as the Fed began cutting rates.
Gold's 1982 high was about $ 481.00 per troy ounce, reached in September.
The average gold price in 1982 was roughly $ 376.00 per troy ounce — it opened near $ 398.00 and closed around $ 457.00.
Gold rose about 14.8% over 1982, between a low of $ 297.00 and a high of $ 481.00.
Historical figures are approximate annual values shown for educational analysis and may differ from other sources. This is not financial advice — see our disclaimer.