Gold, gold, gold! Fools, fools, fools!

Ads are everywhere extolling the virtues of bullion, and they keep pointing to “record high gold prices” as a reason for snapping up some piece of shiny yourself. The wisdom of jumping in on an asset that has already had a run-up in its price aside, gold is not at any kind of record high.

Once you adjust for inflation, gold is 40% below its peak value 30 years ago. Back then it was at $2,318 an ounce, in today’s dollars. This week it closed at only $1400. Don’t believe the hype.

The Myth of Record-High Gold [Economix]

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