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Gold bottomed near $284 in February 1985 — the low of the entire post-1980 bear phase — then turned up after the Plaza Accord set the dollar falling.
Monthly path for 1985, anchored to the real open ($ 309.00), the high in December, the low in February, and the close ($ 327.00). The dashed line marks the yearly average; intra-year movement between anchor points is illustrative.
Year-over-year, gold rose +5.83% versus its 1984 close of $ 309.00.
The first weeks of 1985 marked the true bottom of gold’s long fall from $850. The dollar had become a wrecking ball — so strong that American industry was buckling — and in February gold sagged to about $284, a level not seen since 1979 and never seen again since. Everything that had crushed the metal for five years — brutal real interest rates, a soaring currency, collapsing inflation — reached maximum force at once.
Relief came by international agreement. In September, finance ministers of the five great economies met at New York’s Plaza Hotel and announced they would act together to push the dollar down. It was a regime change for currency markets, and gold responded immediately, rallying through the autumn to close near $327. The Plaza Accord did not launch a new golden age, but it ended the metal’s freefall era for good.
The US dollar peaked in February 1985 at extraordinary heights after years of relentless gains.
Gold’s February low around $284 marked its cheapest price since 1979.
In September, the G5 nations signed the Plaza Accord to deliberately weaken the dollar.
Gold rallied through the autumn, closing the year up nearly 6%.
Gold averaged about $317 per ounce in 1985, bottoming near $284 in February — its lowest since 1979 — and recovering to close around $327, up almost 6%.
It was a September 1985 agreement by the US, Japan, West Germany, France and the UK to weaken the overvalued dollar. A falling dollar supports gold, and the accord marked the end of gold’s steepest bear phase.
Gold's 1985 high was about $ 341.00 per troy ounce, reached in December.
The average gold price in 1985 was roughly $ 317.00 per troy ounce — it opened near $ 309.00 and closed around $ 327.00.
Gold rose about 5.8% over 1985, between a low of $ 284.00 and a high of $ 341.00.
Historical figures are approximate annual values shown for educational analysis and may differ from other sources. This is not financial advice — see our disclaimer.