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The relentless dollar crushed gold again in 1984: the price slid from about $407 in March to near $303 by December, a fall of almost a fifth.
Monthly path for 1984, anchored to the real open ($ 382.00), the high in March, the low in December, and the close ($ 309.00). The dashed line marks the yearly average; intra-year movement between anchor points is illustrative.
Year-over-year, gold fell -19.11% versus its 1983 close of $ 382.00.
1984 belonged entirely to the dollar. With the US economy booming out of recession and interest rates far above inflation, capital poured into American assets from every corner of the world, driving the currency — and driving gold, priced in that currency, into the ground. From a March high near $407 the metal fell almost without interruption for the rest of the year.
Even a genuine banking emergency could not change the story: when Continental Illinois, then the seventh-largest US bank, collapsed in May and required a federal rescue, gold managed only a flicker before resuming its decline. By December it was pressing $303, nearly its cheapest level in five years. The year demonstrated the iron rule of the early 1980s — against a super-strong dollar and fat real yields, gold had no answer.
The US dollar surged to fresh multi-year highs against every major currency.
US real interest rates stayed exceptionally high as the Fed guarded against renewed inflation.
The Continental Illinois bank failure in May — then the largest in US history — gave gold only a brief lift.
Gold ended the year near $309, its lowest close since 1979.
Gold averaged about $361 per ounce in 1984 but fell steadily, from roughly $407 in March to a December low near $303, closing the year around $309.
A surging US dollar and very high real interest rates made dollar assets irresistible; even the Continental Illinois bank failure could not sustain safe-haven interest in gold.
Gold's 1984 high was about $ 407.00 per troy ounce, reached in March.
The average gold price in 1984 was roughly $ 361.00 per troy ounce — it opened near $ 382.00 and closed around $ 309.00.
Gold fell about 19.1% over 1984, between a low of $ 303.00 and a high of $ 407.00.
Historical figures are approximate annual values shown for educational analysis and may differ from other sources. This is not financial advice — see our disclaimer.