The metal gold has been used as money throughout history, serving as a propinquity for cash equivalents specific to particular economic regions until relatively recently. The introduction of gold standards in many European countries during the latter part of the nineteenth century continued until they were temporarily suspended during the financial crises associated with World War I. Post – World War ii, this same Bretton Woods agreement pegged the U.s. Dollar to bullion at a price of US$35 for every troy ounce, a rate that has remained unchanged since. After the Nixon Shock of 1971, when the United States unilaterally suspended direct convertibility of an U.s. Dollar to gold, the country began the transition to the fiat currency system, which continued until the present day. The Swiss Franc was the last huge currency to be decoupled from gold, which occurred in 2000.
Because it was established in 1919, the New York gold fixing has been the most widely used benchmark for price of gold. The fixing is a twice-daily phone line meeting of leaders from five gold coins firms in the London bullion economy. Gold is traded constantly throughout the world, and the price of gold is determined by the based on inter spot price, which is derived from gold-trading economies around the globe, including the United States. At five-year intervals, the following table plots the price of gold relative to a variety of other assets and key statistics.
