The rise and rise of gold

A shopkeeper shows gold bangles to a prospective buyer at a jewellery shop ...

Gold raced past it's fourth record high in a month, cresting $1,080 per ounce before easing slightly on Wednesday, with investor sentiment reflecting bullion's growing status as a destination for a diversifying official reserves.

Following are key dates tracing gold's trading history since the 1970s, and it's historic post-September 2009 rise:

August 1971 - United States President Richard Nixon takes the dollar off the 'gold standard', which fixed paper notes value to a pre-set quantity of gold. It had been in place, with minor modifications, since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 fixed the conversion rate for one Troy ounce of gold at $35.

August 1972 - US devalues dollar to $38 per ounce of gold.

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Gold and Silver rates

March 1973 - Most major countries adopt floating exchange rate system.

May - US devalues dollar to $42.22 per ounce.

January 1980 - Gold hits record high at $850 per ounce. High inflation because of strong oil prices, Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and the impact of the Iranian revolution, prompts investors to move into the metal.

Glitter Estimator

August 1999 - Gold falls to a low at $251.70 on worries about central banks reducing reserves of gold bullion and mining companies selling gold in forward markets to protect against falling prices.

October 1999 - Gold reaches a two-year high at $338 after agreement to limit gold sales by 15 European central banks. Market sentiment toward gold begins to turn more positive.

February 2003 - Gold reaches a four and a half year high on safe-haven buying in run-up to conflict with Iraq.

December-January 2004 - Gold breaks above $400, reaching levels last traded in 1988. Investors increasingly buy gold as risk insurance for portfolios.

November 2005 - Spot gold breaches $500 for the first time since December 1987, when spot hit $502.97.

April 11, 2006 - Gold prices surpass $600, the highest point since December 1980, with funds and investors pouring money into commodities on a weak dollar, firm oil prices and geopolitical worries.

May 12 - Gold prices peak at $730 an ounce with funds and investors pouring money into commodities on a weak dollar, firm oil prices and political tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

June 14 - Gold falls 26 per cent to $543 from its 26-year peak after investors and speculators sell out of commodity positions.

Nov. 7, 2007 - Spot gold hits a 28-year high of $845.40 an ounce.

Jan. 2, 2008 - Spot gold breaks above $850.

March 13 - Benchmark gold contract trades over $1,000 for the first time in US futures market.

March 17 - Spot gold hits an all-time high of $1,030.80 an ounce. US gold futures touch record peak of $1,033.90.

Sept 17 - Spot gold rises by nearly $90 an ounce, a record one-day gain, as investors seek safety amid turmoil on the equity markets.

Feb 20, 2009 - US gold futures rise back above $1,000 an ounce to a peak of $1,005.40 as investors turn to gold as major economies face recession and equity markets tumble.

Sept 8 - US gold futures hit $1,000 an ounce for the first time since February as the dollar's weakness, concerns about the sustainability of global economic recovery and worries about future inflation underpinned sentiment.

Oct 6 - Gold hits a record high of $1,035.95 an ounce in Europe, with buying fuelled by dollar weakness.

More India business stories

Oct 8 - Spot gold tops $1,050 per ounce, as the dollar's continued struggle makes the precious metal more attractive to investors.

Oct 20 - Gold rises above $1,060 an ounce.

Nov 3 - Gold crests $1,080 an ounce, defying dollar strength as the International Monetary Fund's 200-tonne sale of gold to India's central bank boosted sentiment toward the metal.

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