Gold price in December 2002: daily prices, high, low and change
Gold closed December 2002 at $347.60 an ounce, up 9.72% on the month. The highest close was $349.20 on 27 Dec and the lowest $317.60 on 2 Dec. Every trading day below, with ranks and context computed from COMEX data.
Gold price chart, December 2002 (daily close and high-low range, US$ per ounce)
Gold line = daily settlement; bars = intraday high to low where available; dashed line = November 2002 close ($316.80).
Daily gold prices in December 2002 (21 trading days)
| Date | Open | High | Low | Close | Change | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Dec | $318.10 | $318.50 | $315.50 | $317.60 | +$0.80 | +0.25% |
| Tue 3 Dec | $317.40 | $321.20 | $317.10 | $320.20 | +$2.60 | +0.82% |
| Wed 4 Dec | $319.80 | $323.00 | $319.80 | $322.20 | +$2.00 | +0.62% |
| Thu 5 Dec | $321.70 | $324.80 | $321.00 | $324.80 | +$2.60 | +0.81% |
| Fri 6 Dec | $324.30 | $328.00 | $324.30 | $326.30 | +$1.50 | +0.46% |
| Mon 9 Dec | $325.70 | $326.60 | $324.80 | $325.80 | −$0.50 | −0.15% |
| Tue 10 Dec | $326.00 | $326.20 | $323.00 | $323.50 | −$2.30 | −0.71% |
| Wed 11 Dec | $323.20 | $325.00 | $323.20 | $324.80 | +$1.30 | +0.40% |
| Thu 12 Dec best day | $333.00 | $333.00 | $326.50 | $331.40 | +$6.60 | +2.03% |
| Fri 13 Dec | $331.00 | $336.00 | $330.30 | $333.20 | +$1.80 | +0.54% |
| Mon 16 Dec | $334.00 | $337.00 | $332.50 | $337.00 | +$3.80 | +1.14% |
| Tue 17 Dec | $337.50 | $342.00 | $336.50 | $337.40 | +$0.40 | +0.12% |
| Wed 18 Dec | $337.30 | $342.50 | $337.00 | $342.10 | +$4.70 | +1.39% |
| Thu 19 Dec | $344.40 | $349.20 | $342.50 | $345.90 | +$3.80 | +1.11% |
| Fri 20 Dec | $346.00 | $346.00 | $340.00 | $340.50 | −$5.40 | −1.56% |
| Mon 23 Dec | $344.50 | $345.10 | $342.00 | $345.10 | +$4.60 | +1.35% |
| Tue 24 Dec | $346.10 | $347.70 | $346.00 | $346.80 | +$1.70 | +0.49% |
| Thu 26 Dec | $346.00 | $350.40 | $346.00 | $348.90 | +$2.10 | +0.61% |
| Fri 27 Dec | $348.80 | $350.50 | $347.20 | $349.20 | +$0.30 | +0.09% |
| Mon 30 Dec worst day | $350.40 | $350.40 | $343.40 | $343.40 | −$5.80 | −1.66% |
| Tue 31 Dec | $343.60 | $347.60 | $341.00 | $347.60 | +$4.20 | +1.22% |
Close = COMEX gold futures settlement in US dollars per troy ounce; change is against the previous trading day's close.
Monthly open, high, low and close
| December 2002 | Open | High | Low | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settlements | $317.60 | $349.20 | $317.60 | $347.60 | +9.72% |
| Intraday | $318.10 | $350.50 27 Dec | $315.50 2 Dec | $347.60 | — |
Settlements: first, highest, lowest and last daily close of the month (the basis used on the 2002 page and the monthly returns heatmap). Intraday: the highest and lowest traded prices in the daily bars.
Source: COMEX gold futures (GC=F) daily settlements and intraday bars via Yahoo Finance; US CPI (FRED CPIAUCSL) for the inflation adjustment; World Bank Pink Sheet for the monthly London average. Figures are final settlements; sources may occasionally revise historical data.
Gold in December 2002: summary
It was the largest monthly gain in the daily record, which starts in August 2000. Gold jumped 9.72% in December 2002, from $316.80 at the end of November 2002 to $347.60 an ounce. Settlement prices ranged from $317.60 on 2 December 2002 to $349.20 on 27 December 2002, a spread of $31.60 (10.0%), wider than the 4.3% average of the previous 12 months. Gold closed higher on 17 of 21 trading days and lower on 4; the strongest session was 12 December 2002 (+2.03%) and the weakest 30 December 2002 (−1.66%).
How December 2002 compares
- Against other Decembers: at +9.72%, December 2002 ranks 1st of 26 Decembers since 2000 (best first), the best since 2000.
- Against every month: it ranks 13th of 313 months since September 2000, better than 96% of them.
- Range: the gap between the highest and lowest close was $31.60, or 10.0% of the opening level, 2.3× the 4.3% average of the previous 12 months.
- Daily moves: the average day moved 0.84% (up or down), against 0.63% over the previous 12 months, so December 2002 was more volatile than usual.
- Streaks: the longest run of higher closes was 7 days and the longest run of lower closes 2 days.
- Bigger picture: at the month-end close gold was +24.72% for 2002 to the end of December and +24.72% over 12 months (against the December 2001 close of $278.70).
- Average price: the mean of the 21 daily closes was $334.94; the World Bank's monthly average of the London (LBMA) price was $332.00.
Across the other 25 completed Decembers since 2000, gold averaged +1.12% and rose in 16 of them (64%). December 2002 beat that average by 8.6 percentage points. The gold seasonality tool shows the same statistics for every calendar month, and the monthly returns heatmap lays out all Decembers side by side.
December 2002 in today's dollars
Adjusted for US consumer-price inflation, the $347.60 closing price equals about $643 in September 2026 dollars (CPI 181.8 in December 2002 against 336.3 in September 2026, FRED series CPIAUCSL), 85% more than the nominal figure. The gold price history hub restates every year's close on the same basis, and the all-time-high tracker lists every record close in nominal dollars.
Gold price by month in 2002
The gold price in 2002 page has the year's open, high, low and close, and the monthly archive on the gold price history hub explains how these month pages are built.
Frequently asked questions
What was the gold price in December 2002?
Gold closed December 2002 at $347.60 an ounce (COMEX settlement). It opened the month at $317.60 and averaged $334.94 across 21 trading days; the World Bank’s London average for the month was $332.00.
Did gold go up in December 2002?
Yes. Gold was up 9.72% in December 2002, from $316.80 at the end of November 2002 to $347.60. It closed higher on 17 of 21 days. Among Decembers since 2000 it ranks 1st of 26 (best first).
What was the highest gold price in December 2002?
The highest close was $349.20 on 27 December 2002. The highest intraday price in the daily bars was $350.50 on 27 December 2002.
What was the lowest gold price in December 2002?
The lowest close was $317.60 on 2 December 2002, $31.60 (10.0%) below the month’s highest close. The lowest intraday price was $315.50 on 2 December 2002.
Educational information only, not financial advice and not a forecast. Past prices do not predict future prices. See our risk disclaimer and editorial policy.