Gold at $2,000 or more an ounce

Gold’s rally to record prices is still 53 percent below the 1980 inflation-adjusted peak, an indicator it will continue to climb in value.

While gold rose this year to $1,072 an ounce (on Oct. 14), consumer prices have almost tripled in the past three decades, eroding the metal’s value. Meaning bullion hasn’t kept pace with the cost of bread, fuel or medical care.

In 1980, gold hit a then-record $873 an ounce. In today’s dollars, that would be $2,287, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s inflation calculator.