The price of gold finished the year at $1,104 based on the final London Fix price, representing a gain of more than 27% for the year. Gold also recorded its ninth consecutive annual gain during a decade of strong performance.
Gold opened the year at $869.75 and after a brief dip, moved steadily towards the $1,000 level. It narrowly missed the mark in mid-February and spent the next seven months between a range of $870 to $980 before breaking above $1,000 in September. The price of gold continued its ascent to the all time high of $1,212.50 reached on December 2, 2009. In the remainder of the month, the price of gold declined to finish the year at $1,104.
The table below presents the London Fix closing price of gold from 2000 to 2009. The annual gain in dollars and expressed as a percent has been calculated based on the change between closing prices.
2000-2009 Gold Annual Performance
| Year | Closing Price | Annual Gain | Percentage Gain |
| 2000 | 272.65 | ||
| 2001 | 276.50 | 3.85 | 1.41% |
| 2002 | 342.75 | 66.25 | 23.96% |
| 2003 | 417.25 | 74.50 | 21.74% |
| 2004 | 438.00 | 20.75 | 4.97% |
| 2005 | 513.00 | 75.00 | 17.12% |
| 2006 | 635.70 | 122.70 | 23.92% |
| 2007 | 836.50 | 200.80 | 31.59% |
| 2008 | 865.00 | 28.50 | 3.41% |
| 2009 | 1,104.00 | 239.00 | 27.63% |
While other asset classes have experienced boom and bust cycles during the past decade, gold's steady performance resulted in an unbroken string of annual gains, which resulted in a collective 291% advance from the January 2000 opening price to today's closing price. The annual returns provided by gold have ranged from a low of 1.41% in 2001 to a high of 31.59% in 2007.
