Inflation-Adjusted SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold bullion, providing investors with a convenient way to gain exposure to gold without the complexities of physical ownership.

Gold is often viewed as an inflation hedge, but its nominal price movements don't always reflect its true purchasing power performance over time. This page adjusts GLD's historical prices for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index, revealing how the ETF has performed in real terms relative to broader inflation trends.

Nominal prices are adjusted for stock splits and assume reinvestment of any dividends to reflect total return. Inflation-adjusted prices use May 2026 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF is 386.54 (as of the close of Jun 12, 2026), 22.05% lower than the all-time high of 495.9 (Jan 29, 2026).

Since November 18, 2004, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 396.41%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 7.71%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 770.98%, or an annualized rate of 10.56%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. The inflation-adjusted column shows what each past level would represent in roughly today's dollars based on the latest CPI reading, following the same present-value method that underlies the US Inflation Calculator. The newest row will show matching nominal and adjusted values until another CPI update becomes available.

Date	Inflation-Adjusted	Nominal value
Jun 2026	386.54	386.54
May 2026	417.12	417.12
Apr 2026	426.34	423.66
Mar 2026	436.69	430.29
Feb 2026	496.09	483.75
Jan 2026	458.45	444.95
Dec 2025	409.85	396.31
Nov 2025	401.05	387.88
Oct 2025	368.12	368.12
Sep 2025	366.77	355.47
Aug 2025	329.01	318.07
Jul 2025	314.28	302.96
Jun 2025	316.7	304.83
May 2025	316.5	303.6
Apr 2025	317.34	303.77
Mar 2025	301.95	288.14
Feb 2025	276.51	263.27
Jan 2025	272.76	258.56
Dec 2024	257.1	242.13
Nov 2024	260.87	245.59
Oct 2024	269.14	253.51
Sep 2024	258.34	243.06
Aug 2024	246.22	231.29
Jul 2024	241.38	226.55
Jun 2024	229.35	215.01
May 2024	229.73	215.3
Apr 2024	226.45	211.87
Mar 2024	220.73	205.72
Feb 2024	204.44	189.31
Jan 2024	204.77	188.45
Dec 2023	208.86	191.17
Nov 2023	206.01	188.75
Oct 2023	200.52	184.09
Sep 2023	186.68	171.45
Aug 2023	196.49	180.02
Jul 2023	199.91	182.35
Jun 2023	195.81	178.27
May 2023	200.9	182.32
Apr 2023	204.15	184.8
Mar 2023	203.43	183.22
Feb 2023	189.13	169.78
Jan 2023	200.97	179.41
Dec 2022	191.55	169.64
Nov 2022	185.52	164.81
Oct 2022	170.83	151.91
Sep 2022	174.64	154.67
Aug 2022	180.22	159.27
Jul 2022	185.62	164.1
Jun 2022	190.53	168.46
May 2022	196.22	171.14
Apr 2022	205.07	176.91
Mar 2022	210.57	180.65
Feb 2022	210.7	178.38
Jan 2022	200.36	168.09
Dec 2021	205.5	170.96
Nov 2021	199.54	165.5
Oct 2021	201.92	166.65
Sep 2021	200.63	164.22
Aug 2021	207.87	169.69
Jul 2021	208.46	169.82
Jun 2021	204.3	165.63
May 2021	222.07	178.38
Apr 2021	207.88	165.66
Mar 2021	202.38	159.96
Feb 2021	206.17	161.81
Jan 2021	221.14	172.61
Dec 2020	229.48	178.36
Nov 2020	214.64	166.67
Oct 2020	226.77	176.2
Sep 2020	228.05	177.12
Aug 2020	238.31	184.83
Jul 2020	239.84	185.43
Jun 2020	217.57	167.37
May 2020	212.93	162.91
Apr 2020	207.57	158.8
Mar 2020	192.22	148.05
Feb 2020	192.23	148.38
Jan 2020	193.99	149.33
Dec 2019	186.36	142.9
Nov 2019	179.62	137.86
Oct 2019	185.48	142.43
Sep 2019	181.25	138.87
Aug 2019	187.77	143.75
Jul 2019	173.99	133.21
Jun 2019	174.27	133.2
May 2019	161.39	123.33
Apr 2019	158.94	121.2
Mar 2019	160.85	122.01
Feb 2019	164.38	123.99
Jan 2019	166.09	124.75
Dec 2018	161.74	121.25
Nov 2018	153.63	115.54
Oct 2018	152.6	115.15
Sep 2018	149.69	112.76
Aug 2018	150.86	113.51
Jul 2018	154.25	115.99
Jun 2018	157.79	118.65
May 2018	163.97	123.1
Apr 2018	166.65	124.59
Mar 2018	168.92	125.79
Feb 2018	168.24	125
Jan 2018	172.59	127.65
Dec 2017	168.09	123.65
Nov 2017	164.53	121.1
Oct 2017	163.95	120.67
Sep 2017	165.08	121.58
Aug 2017	171.74	125.82
Jul 2017	165.31	120.75
Jun 2017	161.46	118.02
May 2017	165.17	120.62
Apr 2017	165.52	120.77
Mar 2017	163.19	118.72
Feb 2017	164.02	119.23
Jan 2017	159.46	115.55
Dec 2016	152.15	109.61
Nov 2016	155.17	111.75
Oct 2016	169.05	121.94
Sep 2016	174.4	125.64
Aug 2016	173.62	124.78
Jul 2016	179.63	128.98
Jun 2016	175.85	126.47
May 2016	161.91	116.06
Apr 2016	173.19	123.65
Mar 2016	165.55	117.64
Feb 2016	167.68	118.64
Jan 2016	151.28	106.95
Dec 2015	143.75	101.46
Nov 2015	143.91	101.92
Oct 2015	154.01	109.3
Sep 2015	150.5	106.86
Aug 2015	153.02	108.82
Jul 2015	147.34	104.93
Jun 2015	157.8	112.37
May 2015	160.79	114.1
Apr 2015	160.72	113.47
Mar 2015	161.32	113.66
Feb 2015	165.85	116.16
Jan 2015	177.02	123.45
Dec 2014	162.1	113.58
Nov 2014	159.1	112.11
Oct 2014	159.01	112.66
Sep 2014	163.61	116.21
Aug 2014	174.51	123.86
Jul 2014	173.56	123.39
Jun 2014	180.03	128.04
May 2014	169.65	120.43
Apr 2014	175.6	124.22
Mar 2014	175.31	123.61
Feb 2014	182.16	127.62
Jan 2014	172.05	120.09
Dec 2013	166.98	116.12
Nov 2013	173.55	120.7
Oct 2013	183.3	127.74
Sep 2013	183.46	128.18
Aug 2013	192.9	134.62
Jul 2013	183.57	127.96
Jun 2013	170.95	119.11
May 2013	192.66	133.92
Apr 2013	205.76	142.77
Mar 2013	222.36	154.45
Feb 2013	220.85	153
Jan 2013	234.59	161.2
Dec 2012	236.48	162.02
Nov 2012	241.71	166.05
Oct 2012	241.7	166.83
Sep 2012	248.93	171.89
Aug 2012	238.88	164.22
Jul 2012	228.91	156.49
Jun 2012	226.63	155.19
May 2012	221.1	151.62
Apr 2012	235.78	161.88
Mar 2012	236.84	162.12
Feb 2012	241.84	164.29
Jan 2012	250.32	169.31
Dec 2011	225.71	151.99
Nov 2011	252.02	170.13
Oct 2011	247.68	167.34
Sep 2011	233.46	158.06
Aug 2011	262.9	177.72
Jul 2011	234.8	158.29
Jun 2011	216.76	146
May 2011	221.93	149.64
Apr 2011	227.04	152.37
Mar 2011	209.74	139.86
Feb 2011	208.46	137.66
Jan 2011	197.63	129.87
Dec 2010	212.1	138.72
Nov 2010	207.41	135.42
Oct 2010	203.21	132.62
Sep 2010	196.24	127.91
Aug 2010	187.4	122.08
Jul 2010	177.53	115.49
Jun 2010	187.08	121.68
May 2010	182.6	118.88
Apr 2010	177.33	115.36
Mar 2010	167.77	108.95
Feb 2010	169.2	109.43
Jan 2010	163.88	105.96
Dec 2009	166.53	107.31
Nov 2009	179.14	115.64
Oct 2009	158.94	102.53
Sep 2009	153.39	98.85
Aug 2009	145.02	93.4
Jul 2009	145.27	93.35
Jun 2009	141.67	91.18
May 2009	150.75	96.2
Apr 2009	137.15	87.27
Mar 2009	142.24	90.28
Feb 2009	146.29	92.63
Jan 2009	144.93	91.31
Dec 2008	137.92	86.52
Nov 2008	126.7	80.31
Oct 2008	110.39	71.34
Sep 2008	130.31	85.07
Aug 2008	124.99	81.71
Jul 2008	137.24	90.08
Jun 2008	139.98	91.4
May 2008	135.28	87.45
Apr 2008	135.17	86.65
Mar 2008	141.89	90.41
Feb 2008	152.26	96.18
Jan 2008	145.11	91.4
Dec 2007	131.57	82.46
Nov 2007	123.29	77.32
Oct 2007	126.1	78.62
Sep 2007	118.16	73.51
Aug 2007	107.22	66.52
Jul 2007	105.85	65.79
Jun 2007	103.37	64.27
May 2007	105.62	65.54
Apr 2007	108.78	67.09
Mar 2007	107.28	65.74
Feb 2007	109.48	66.48
Jan 2007	107.33	64.83
Dec 2006	104.97	63.21
Nov 2006	107.09	64.39
Oct 2006	100.04	60.24
Sep 2006	98.22	59.47
Aug 2006	102.38	62.29
Jul 2006	104.01	63.16
Jun 2006	101.13	61.23
May 2006	106.3	64.23
Apr 2006	108.25	65.09
Mar 2006	97.45	58.1
Feb 2006	94.57	56.07
Jan 2006	95.82	56.7
Dec 2005	87.83	51.58
Nov 2005	83.27	49.1
Oct 2005	78.06	46.4
Sep 2005	78.72	46.7
Aug 2005	74.05	43.4
Jul 2005	73.44	42.82
Jun 2005	74.85	43.44
May 2005	71.8	41.65
Apr 2005	74.65	43.35
Mar 2005	74.24	42.82
Feb 2005	76.06	43.53
Jan 2005	74.19	42.22
Dec 2004	77.13	43.8
Nov 2004	79.17	45.12

Returns from Investing in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF

How much did an investment in the GLD ETF really grow each year after accounting for inflation? The following chart contains the inflation-adjusted real annual percentage returns.

Detailed Annual Returns (Adjusted vs. Nominal)

The table below shows the returns for the SPDR Gold Shares ETF by year, both inflation-adjusted and nominal. You can sort any column by clicking on the header.

Year	Inflation-Adjusted Return	Nominal Return
2024	23.1%	26.66%
2023	9.04%	12.69%
2022	-6.79%	-0.77%
2021	-10.45%	-4.15%
2020	23.14%	24.81%
2019	15.22%	17.86%
2018	-3.78%	-1.94%
2017	10.48%	12.81%
2016	5.84%	8.03%
2015	-11.32%	-10.67%
2014	-2.92%	-2.19%
2013	-29.39%	-28.33%
2012	4.77%	6.6%
2011	6.41%	9.57%
2010	27.37%	29.27%
2009	20.74%	24.03%
2008	4.83%	4.92%
2007	25.34%	30.45%
2006	19.51%	22.55%
2005	13.87%	17.76%

Spdr Gold Shares Etf: Average Annualized Returns

Annualized returns show the average rate of growth per year, making it easier to compare performance across different time periods. While nominal returns indicate the headline growth, adjusting for inflation reveals the actual change in purchasing power.

This table presents both nominal and inflation-adjusted average annual returns for the SPDR Gold Shares over various trailing periods ending May 31, 2026, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	31.79%	37.39%
Last 3 years	27.57%	31.77%
Last 5 years	13.44%	18.52%
Last 10 years	9.93%	13.65%
Last 20 years	7.07%	9.81%

Real Returns of Investing in the SPDR Gold Shares

The chart and table below show the nominal and inflation-adjusted value of a hypothetical $100 investment over various long-term historical periods, ending in September 2025.

The inflation-adjusted line, in green, represents the real increase in purchasing power for the initial investment. Observe the gap between both lines, which illustrates the cumulative effect of inflation over time.

Even over just five years, inflation takes a noticeable bite out of investments. Investing $100 in the SPDR Gold Shares five years ago yielded an 119.68% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 77.89%.

As investment periods get longer, the difference between reported nominal returns and the inflation-adjusted gains usually becomes much greater due to the compounding effect of inflation over time.

Investment Period	What $100 Grew To (Nominal)	Total Nominal Return (%)	Total Inflation-Adjusted Return (%)
Last 5 years Feb 2021 - Sep 2025	$219.68	119.68%	77.89%
Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025	$299.62	199.62%	118.73%

About the SPDR Gold Shares ETF

The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is an exchange-traded fund managed by State Street Global Advisors that seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion. Launched in November 2004, GLD was one of the first ETFs to provide investors with exposure to gold through the equity markets.

The fund is backed by physical gold bars held in secure vaults, with each share representing a fractional ownership interest in the trust's gold holdings. GLD offers investors a liquid and cost-effective alternative to direct gold ownership, eliminating the need for storage, insurance, and other logistical concerns while providing exposure to gold price movements. The fund has become a popular choice for investors seeking portfolio diversification, inflation protection, or exposure to precious metals as an asset class.

Last Close Jun 12, 2026	386.54
Highest Jan 29, 2026	495.9
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Jan 29, 2026	510.95
Annualized return Since Nov 18, 2004	10.56%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Nov 18, 2004	7.71%