Key points from the chart
- The chart tracks the price of oil relative to gold from 1960 to September 2024, as an index where the 1960s average equals 100.
- The subtitle says oil’s relative price to gold is at one of its historic lows, 30% below pre Bretton Woods levels.
- The line peaks around the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and reaches its lowest point in April 2020, when the chart notes gold at $1683 an ounce and oil at $21 a barrel.
- Dashed lines mark five periods, from the Oil Crisis of the 1970s and 1980s to the Shale Revolution of the last decade.
- All figures are from the graphic, which cites the World Bank.
The oil to gold price ratio chart in text
Title: Historical Trends of the Oil-to-Gold Price Ratio. Subtitle: Oil’s Relative Price to Gold at One of Its Historic Lows, 30% Below Pre-Bretton Woods Levels. Y axis label: Gold to oil price ratio (Base period 1960s = 100), with gridlines from 0 to 400 in steps of 50. X axis: 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2024-09. A single yellow line runs across the whole period. Footer: Source: World Bank. Research and visualization: Ehsan Soltani. www.econovis.net, @econovisuals, with the EV logo.
Event markers (white circles on vertical lines):
| Date marker | Label on the chart |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Bretton Woods Collapse |
| 1973 | Arab Oil Embargo |
| 1979 | Iranian Revolution |
| 1990 | Persian Gulf War |
| 1997 | Asian Financial Crisis |
| 2008 | Global Financial Crisis |
| 2020 | COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-04 | Gold Price of $1683/oz, Oil Price of $21/bbl |
Period averages (white dashed lines with blue labels). The chart does not print the averages, so the levels below come from the creator’s article [1]:
| Period label on the chart | Years (Econovis) | Average or end level (Econovis) |
|---|---|---|
| Oil Crisis | mid 1970s to mid 1980s | nearly twice the 1960s level |
| Low Oil Prices | mid 1980s to 1990s | 19% above the 1960s level |
| Oil / Commodity Prices Surge | 2000 to 2008 | 144% above the 1960s level |
| Gold Prices Surge | 2008 to mid 2010s | 70% above the 1960s level |
| Oil Prices Decline / Shale Revolution | mid 2010s to 2024 | 30% below the 1960s level by September 2024 |
Gold to oil ratio or oil to gold ratio
The two ratios are the same comparison turned upside down. The gold to oil ratio usually means how many barrels of oil one ounce of gold buys. This chart measures the opposite, the price of oil relative to gold, and indexes it so that the 1960s average is 100. A high value on this chart means oil was expensive in gold terms, which is the same as a low gold to oil ratio. Using the April 2020 prices printed on the chart, one ounce of gold bought about 80 barrels of oil ($1683 divided by $21, our arithmetic), which is why that month is the chart’s low point.
The chart’s starting point matters. Under the Bretton Woods system the US dollar was fixed to gold at $35 an ounce, and on 15 August 1971 the United States ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold [3]. From then on the gold price floated, which is why the creator marks 1971 as the start of the swings and compares later periods with the 1960s average [1].
The five periods on the chart
The creator’s article explains the dashed lines [1]. In the Oil Crisis period, tensions including the Arab oil embargo and the Iranian Revolution pushed the ratio to nearly twice its 1960s level. In the Low Oil Prices period oil fell while gold held steady, leaving the ratio 19% above the 1960s level. From 2000 to 2008 demand driven largely by China lifted oil prices and the ratio averaged 144% above the 1960s. After the 2008 crisis gold rose and the ratio fell back to an average 70% above the 1960s. In the Shale Revolution period oil prices fell while gold rose, and by September 2024 the ratio was 30% below the 1960s average, lower than any earlier period [1]. A later Econovis post puts the November 2024 figure at 32% below the 1960s average [2].
Notes on this infographic
- Axis label. The title says oil to gold, but the y axis label says “Gold to oil price ratio”. The line peaks when oil was dear (2008) and bottoms when oil was cheap (April 2020), so it measures oil relative to gold, as the title and subtitle say. We have kept the axis label as printed.
- Index, not prices. The line is an index (1960s = 100), so it does not show either price directly. The only prices on the chart are the April 2020 figures.
- Data date. The series ends in September 2024.
Questions about the gold to oil ratio
How do oil prices affect gold?
This chart shows they do not move in step. Between 2000 and 2008 oil rose much faster than gold, while from the mid 2010s oil fell as gold rose, according to the creator’s notes on the chart [1].
Do gold and oil prices move together?
Not closely on this chart. If they did, the line would stay near 100. Instead the creator’s period averages range from 30% below to 144% above the 1960s level [1].
How many barrels of oil does an ounce of gold buy?
In April 2020, the chart's low point, one ounce of gold bought about 80 barrels of oil, using the printed prices of $1683 an ounce for gold and $21 a barrel for oil. The chart itself is an index of oil relative to gold, with the 1960s average set at 100, so it does not show this ratio directly. The series ends in September 2024.
Why does the oil to gold ratio chart use the 1960s as its base?
Because the gold price was fixed until 1971, which the creator marks as the start of the swings [1]. Under the Bretton Woods system the US dollar was fixed to gold at $35 an ounce, and on 15 August 1971 the United States ended the dollar's convertibility into gold [3]. Later periods are compared with the 1960s average, and by September 2024 the ratio was 30% below it [1].
Sources
- Ehsan Soltani (Econovis), Historical Trends of the Oil-to-Gold Price Ratio (1960 to 2024), 4 January 2025. The creator’s post of this chart.
- Econovis, Oil-to-Gold Price Ratio Reaches Historic Low in November 2024.
- Wikipedia, Bretton Woods system.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
