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 June 2025 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF is 306.73 (as of the close of Jul 15, 2025), 3.02% lower than the all-time high of 316.29 (Jun 13, 2025).

While the nominal high reached 316.29, the inflation-adjusted peak value was 317.33 on April 21, 2025.

Since November 18, 2004, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 309.25%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 7.06%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 591.14%, or an annualized rate of 9.81%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. Inflation-adjusted figures show what past levels would be worth using roughly today's purchasing power (based on the latest CPI data). The latest entry in the table will have equal nominal and adjusted values until the next CPI figures are released.

Date	Inflation-Adjusted	Nominal value
Jul 2025	306.73	306.73
Jun 2025	304.83	304.83
May 2025	304.64	303.6
Apr 2025	305.44	303.77
Mar 2025	290.63	288.14
Feb 2025	266.14	263.27
Jan 2025	262.54	258.56
Dec 2024	247.47	242.13
Nov 2024	251.09	245.59
Oct 2024	259.05	253.51
Sep 2024	248.66	243.06
Aug 2024	237	231.29
Jul 2024	232.33	226.55
Jun 2024	220.75	215.01
May 2024	221.12	215.3
Apr 2024	217.96	211.87
Mar 2024	212.46	205.72
Feb 2024	196.77	189.31
Jan 2024	197.09	188.45
Dec 2023	201.03	191.17
Nov 2023	198.28	188.75
Oct 2023	193	184.09
Sep 2023	179.68	171.45
Aug 2023	189.13	180.02
Jul 2023	192.41	182.35
Jun 2023	188.47	178.27
May 2023	193.37	182.32
Apr 2023	196.49	184.8
Mar 2023	195.8	183.22
Feb 2023	182.04	169.78
Jan 2023	193.44	179.41
Dec 2022	184.37	169.64
Nov 2022	178.57	164.81
Oct 2022	164.42	151.91
Sep 2022	168.09	154.67
Aug 2022	173.46	159.27
Jul 2022	178.66	164.1
Jun 2022	183.38	168.46
May 2022	188.86	171.14
Apr 2022	197.38	176.91
Mar 2022	202.68	180.65
Feb 2022	202.8	178.38
Jan 2022	192.85	168.09
Dec 2021	197.79	170.96
Nov 2021	192.06	165.5
Oct 2021	194.35	166.65
Sep 2021	193.11	164.22
Aug 2021	200.08	169.69
Jul 2021	200.65	169.82
Jun 2021	196.64	165.63
May 2021	213.74	178.38
Apr 2021	200.09	165.66
Mar 2021	194.8	159.96
Feb 2021	198.44	161.81
Jan 2021	212.85	172.61
Dec 2020	220.87	178.36
Nov 2020	206.59	166.67
Oct 2020	218.27	176.2
Sep 2020	219.5	177.12
Aug 2020	229.38	184.83
Jul 2020	230.85	185.43
Jun 2020	209.42	167.37
May 2020	204.95	162.91
Apr 2020	199.79	158.8
Mar 2020	185.02	148.05
Feb 2020	185.02	148.38
Jan 2020	186.72	149.33
Dec 2019	179.37	142.9
Nov 2019	172.89	137.86
Oct 2019	178.52	142.43
Sep 2019	174.46	138.87
Aug 2019	180.73	143.75
Jul 2019	167.47	133.21
Jun 2019	167.74	133.2
May 2019	155.34	123.33
Apr 2019	152.98	121.2
Mar 2019	154.82	122.01
Feb 2019	158.22	123.99
Jan 2019	159.86	124.75
Dec 2018	155.67	121.25
Nov 2018	147.87	115.54
Oct 2018	146.88	115.15
Sep 2018	144.08	112.76
Aug 2018	145.21	113.51
Jul 2018	148.46	115.99
Jun 2018	151.88	118.65
May 2018	157.83	123.1
Apr 2018	160.4	124.59
Mar 2018	162.59	125.79
Feb 2018	161.93	125
Jan 2018	166.12	127.65
Dec 2017	161.79	123.65
Nov 2017	158.36	121.1
Oct 2017	157.8	120.67
Sep 2017	158.89	121.58
Aug 2017	165.3	125.82
Jul 2017	159.12	120.75
Jun 2017	155.41	118.02
May 2017	158.98	120.62
Apr 2017	159.31	120.77
Mar 2017	157.07	118.72
Feb 2017	157.88	119.23
Jan 2017	153.48	115.55
Dec 2016	146.44	109.61
Nov 2016	149.35	111.75
Oct 2016	162.72	121.94
Sep 2016	167.86	125.64
Aug 2016	167.11	124.78
Jul 2016	172.9	128.98
Jun 2016	169.26	126.47
May 2016	155.84	116.06
Apr 2016	166.7	123.65
Mar 2016	159.35	117.64
Feb 2016	161.4	118.64
Jan 2016	145.61	106.95
Dec 2015	138.37	101.46
Nov 2015	138.52	101.92
Oct 2015	148.24	109.3
Sep 2015	144.86	106.86
Aug 2015	147.29	108.82
Jul 2015	141.82	104.93
Jun 2015	151.89	112.37
May 2015	154.77	114.1
Apr 2015	154.7	113.47
Mar 2015	155.27	113.66
Feb 2015	159.63	116.16
Jan 2015	170.38	123.45
Dec 2014	156.02	113.58
Nov 2014	153.13	112.11
Oct 2014	153.05	112.66
Sep 2014	157.48	116.21
Aug 2014	167.97	123.86
Jul 2014	167.05	123.39
Jun 2014	173.28	128.04
May 2014	163.29	120.43
Apr 2014	169.01	124.22
Mar 2014	168.74	123.61
Feb 2014	175.33	127.62
Jan 2014	165.6	120.09
Dec 2013	160.72	116.12
Nov 2013	167.05	120.7
Oct 2013	176.43	127.74
Sep 2013	176.58	128.18
Aug 2013	185.67	134.62
Jul 2013	176.69	127.96
Jun 2013	164.54	119.11
May 2013	185.44	133.92
Apr 2013	198.05	142.77
Mar 2013	214.03	154.45
Feb 2013	212.57	153
Jan 2013	225.8	161.2
Dec 2012	227.62	162.02
Nov 2012	232.65	166.05
Oct 2012	232.64	166.83
Sep 2012	239.6	171.89
Aug 2012	229.93	164.22
Jul 2012	220.33	156.49
Jun 2012	218.14	155.19
May 2012	212.81	151.62
Apr 2012	226.94	161.88
Mar 2012	227.97	162.12
Feb 2012	232.77	164.29
Jan 2012	240.94	169.31
Dec 2011	217.24	151.99
Nov 2011	242.57	170.13
Oct 2011	238.39	167.34
Sep 2011	224.71	158.06
Aug 2011	253.04	177.72
Jul 2011	226	158.29
Jun 2011	208.64	146
May 2011	213.61	149.64
Apr 2011	218.53	152.37
Mar 2011	201.88	139.86
Feb 2011	200.64	137.66
Jan 2011	190.22	129.87
Dec 2010	204.15	138.72
Nov 2010	199.64	135.42
Oct 2010	195.59	132.62
Sep 2010	188.88	127.91
Aug 2010	180.38	122.08
Jul 2010	170.87	115.49
Jun 2010	180.07	121.68
May 2010	175.76	118.88
Apr 2010	170.68	115.36
Mar 2010	161.48	108.95
Feb 2010	162.86	109.43
Jan 2010	157.73	105.96
Dec 2009	160.29	107.31
Nov 2009	172.43	115.64
Oct 2009	152.99	102.53
Sep 2009	147.64	98.85
Aug 2009	139.59	93.4
Jul 2009	139.82	93.35
Jun 2009	136.36	91.18
May 2009	145.1	96.2
Apr 2009	132.01	87.27
Mar 2009	136.9	90.28
Feb 2009	140.81	92.63
Jan 2009	139.49	91.31
Dec 2008	132.75	86.52
Nov 2008	121.95	80.31
Oct 2008	106.25	71.34
Sep 2008	125.42	85.07
Aug 2008	120.3	81.71
Jul 2008	132.1	90.08
Jun 2008	134.74	91.4
May 2008	130.21	87.45
Apr 2008	130.11	86.65
Mar 2008	136.58	90.41
Feb 2008	146.55	96.18
Jan 2008	139.67	91.4
Dec 2007	126.64	82.46
Nov 2007	118.66	77.32
Oct 2007	121.38	78.62
Sep 2007	113.73	73.51
Aug 2007	103.2	66.52
Jul 2007	101.88	65.79
Jun 2007	99.5	64.27
May 2007	101.66	65.54
Apr 2007	104.7	67.09
Mar 2007	103.26	65.74
Feb 2007	105.38	66.48
Jan 2007	103.31	64.83
Dec 2006	101.04	63.21
Nov 2006	103.08	64.39
Oct 2006	96.29	60.24
Sep 2006	94.54	59.47
Aug 2006	98.54	62.29
Jul 2006	100.11	63.16
Jun 2006	97.34	61.23
May 2006	102.31	64.23
Apr 2006	104.2	65.09
Mar 2006	93.8	58.1
Feb 2006	91.02	56.07
Jan 2006	92.23	56.7
Dec 2005	84.54	51.58
Nov 2005	80.15	49.1
Oct 2005	75.13	46.4
Sep 2005	75.77	46.7
Aug 2005	71.28	43.4
Jul 2005	70.69	42.82
Jun 2005	72.04	43.44
May 2005	69.11	41.65
Apr 2005	71.86	43.35
Mar 2005	71.45	42.82
Feb 2005	73.21	43.53
Jan 2005	71.41	42.22
Dec 2004	74.24	43.8
Nov 2004	76.2	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 June 30, 2025, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	38.09%	41.77%
Last 3 years	18.46%	21.86%
Last 5 years	7.8%	12.74%
Last 10 years	7.21%	10.49%
Last 20 years	7.48%	10.23%

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 June 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 105.44% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 64.75%.

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 2020 - Jun 2025	$205.44	105.44%	64.75%
Last 10 years Feb 2015 - Jun 2025	$262.42	162.42%	90.96%

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 Jul 15, 2025	306.73
Highest Jun 13, 2025	316.29
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Apr 21, 2025	317.33
Annualized return Since Nov 18, 2004	9.81%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Nov 18, 2004	7.06%