2024 was a year of records. A third consecutive year of enormous central-bank buying, combined with expectations that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates, drove gold through one all-time high after another, comfortably clearing the 2020 pandemic record.
Notably, the rally defied the old playbook: gold rose even as real yields stayed elevated, a sign that the structural, sanction-driven demand from official buyers had become the dominant force. The stage was set for the most remarkable milestone of all — gold's 2025 surpassing of its 1980 peak in real, inflation-adjusted terms.
Key events of 2024
- 2024-03-01
Records begin
Gold breaks to new all-time highs on central-bank demand and rate-cut hopes.