Gold 
Spot gold surged to a new high on Wednesday, fuelling buying of the precious metal as an alternative investment.
Both spot gold and U.S. gold futures have benefited from a confluence of factors including the dollar’s decline, technical buying momentum and worries about potential inflation as central banks struggle to emerge from unprecedented fiscal stimulus measures.
Following are key dates in gold’s trading history since the early 1970s:
* August 1971 – President Richard Nixon takes the dollar off the gold standard, which 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 – The United States devalues the dollar to $38 per ounce of gold.
* March 1973 – Most major countries adopt floating exchange rate system.
* May 1973 – U.S. devalues dollar to $42.22 per ounce.
* January 1980 – Gold hits record high at $850 per ounce
*This information is solely an excerpt of a third-party publication and is incomplete. Please subscribe to the referenced publication for the full article. This is not an offer to buy or sell precious metals. Investors should obtain advice based on their own individual circumstances and understand the risk before making any investment decision.
