ETF · Gold fund
GLD real return vs inflation and money printing
SPDR Gold Shares. An exchange-traded fund backed by physical gold bullion. Each share represents a fraction of an ounce held in vaults.
Key numbers
- 1-month change
- -4.3%
- Volatility (30-day, annualised)
- 22.1%
GLD real return after inflation and money printing
In dollars and pounds, before and after inflation, since Nov 2004.
+131%GLD after US inflation since 20105.1% a year
Up 258% in dollars since 2010. After US inflation, up 131%. Against money printing, up 30.7%.
In pounds, up 338%, or up 168% after UK inflation.
- $ nominal
- +258%7.9% a year
- £ nominal
- +338%9.2% a year
- Real $ (US CPI)
- +131%5.1% a year
- Real £ (UK CPI)
- +168%6.0% a year
- vs US M2
- +30.7%1.6% a year
- Measured from
- Dec 2009to Oct 2026, 16 years 10 months
- GLD, Real $ (US CPI)$384.60
- $ nominal$384.60
- Oct 2026, latest
Loading the chart. Every figure is also in the table below.
| Period | $ nominal | £ nominal | Real $ (US CPI) | Real £ (UK CPI) | vs US M2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past year from Oct 2025 | +4.5% | +3.7% | –a (see note a) | +1.0% | −0.4% |
| 5 years from Oct 2021 | +131% 18.2% a year | +139% 19.0% a year | +90.5% 13.8% a year | +88.8% 13.6% a year | +109% 15.9% a year |
| Since 2020 from Dec 2019 | +169% 15.6% a year | +170% 15.6% a year | +106% 11.2% a year | +104% 11.0% a year | +77.0% 8.7% a year |
| 10 years from Oct 2016 | +215% 12.2% a year | +191% 11.3% a year | +128% 8.6% a year | +105% 7.4% a year | +77.3% 5.9% a year |
| Since 2010 from Dec 2009 | +258% 7.9% a year | +338% 9.2% a year | +131% 5.1% a year | +168% 6.0% a year | +30.7% 1.6% a year |
| Since Nov 2004 first month in our data | +752% 10.3% a year | +1,128% 12.1% a year | +386% 7.5% a year | +559% 9.0% a year | +134% 4.0% a year |
- a US CPI was not published for Oct 2025.
How these figures are worked out
Sources, inflation measures and what is left out
- Month-end closes from Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, Nov 2004 to Oct 2026. Oct 2026 is still in progress, so its figure is the latest close rather than a month-end. Our history for GLD starts in Nov 2004, so longer windows are left out.
- Real figures divide by US CPI (BLS, via FRED) or UK CPI (ONS, joined to the ONS long-run RPI before Jan 1988) and are stated in Oct 2026 money. The M2 lens divides by the US M2 money supply (Federal Reserve, via FRED). Pounds convert at each month's GBP/USD rate.
- US CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- UK CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- US M2 is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- Price returns only: dividends are not included, so the total return to a holder who reinvested them was higher.
- A return of 12 months or more also shows its yearly rate. Gaps in a source are left as gaps and never filled in.
Gold ETF price history, past year
Daily closes from Nasdaq. Last refreshed .
Where GLD stands today
52-week range
- Below the high
- 23.1%
- Above the low
- 5.3%
GLD is in the bottom quarter of its 52-week range, 23.1% below the $495.90 high it reached on 29 Jan 2026, and only 25% of the past year's closes were lower than where it trades now.
Moving averages
- 50-day$397.44 -4.0%
- 200-day$415.36 -8.1%
Price compared with each average. Bars to the right mean the price is above it.
GLD is 4.0% below its 50-day average and 8.1% below its 200-day average, which puts the trend down on both the short and the long view. The 50-day line last dropped below the 200-day on 30 Jun 2026, which traders call a death cross.
Trend score
- Trend0
- Momentum39
- RSI score59
- Drawdown54
- Uptrend
- 65 or more
- Sideways
- 36 to 64
- Downtrend
- 35 or less
Rules-based, from 277 daily prices. It describes the trend so far and does not predict the next move. How it works.
GLD performance and biggest moves
Returns over time
| Period | GLD | SPY | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | -0.2% | -0.1% | −0.1 pts |
| 1 month | -4.3% | +1.9% | −6.2 pts |
| 3 months | +2.5% | +3.1% | −0.7 pts |
| Year to date | -3.7% | +14.2% | −17.9 pts |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +17.4% | −16.5 pts |
GLD is up 0.9% over the past year on price alone, against +17.4% for the S&P 500 (through the SPY fund), so it has trailed that comparison by 16.5 percentage points.
Best and worst days in the past year
- Days that closed higher
- 55%
- Moves of 2% or more
- 52
The biggest one-day rise since 13 Oct 2025 came on 3 Feb 2026 (+6.4%) and the sharpest fall on 30 Jan 2026 (−10.3%). Of the 251 trading days in that period, 55% closed higher than the day before and 52 moved by 2% or more in one direction or the other.
Is GLD overbought, and how volatile is it?
RSI (14-day)
Neutral- Sessions at 70+ (past year)
- 25
- Sessions at 30 or lower
- 5
GLD's RSI of 43.4 is near the middle of the scale, which tells us the up and down days of the last three weeks have more or less cancelled each other out. For context, it last went above 70 on 25 Aug 2026 and last fell below 30 on 24 Jun 2026.
Volatility against other funds and indices
2nd most volatile of 6- Typical daily move
- 1.4%
- Calmest in group
- TLT 9.7%
GLD's 30-day volatility is 22.1%, which works out at a move of roughly 1.4% on an ordinary day. That makes it the 2nd most volatile of the 6 funds and indices we track, well above the group median of 14.6%.
GLD compared with similar assets
| Asset | Price | Today | 1 month | 1 year | RSI | Trend score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLDGold ETF | $381.54 | -0.03% | -4.3% | +0.9% | 43 | 30 Downtrend |
| BTCBitcoin | $83,204 | +1.54% | +8.3% | -27.8% | 52 | 78 Uptrend |
| SPYS&P 500 ETF | $778.46 | +0.05% | +1.9% | +17.4% | 60 | 89 Uptrend |
| BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway | $520.59 | -0.02% | +2.0% | +5.8% | 67 | 82 Uptrend |
Over the past year S&P 500 ETF has done best in this group (+17.4%) and Bitcoin has been the weakest (−27.8%). GLD comes 3rd of 4, 16.5 percentage points behind S&P 500 ETF.
About Gold ETF
GLD launched in November 2004 and is one of the largest gold funds in the world. Its share price follows the gold price, less a small annual fee taken out of the gold it holds.
- Ticker
- GLD
- Type
- ETF
- Sector
- Gold fund
- Priced in
- USD
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GLD: questions people ask
Answers are built from the same live figures shown above, so they change as the price does. Last checked 14 Oct 2026.
Has GLD beaten inflation since 2010?
Yes. From the December 2009 close to October 2026, GLD went up 258% in dollars. US consumer prices rose 55.1% over the same months, which leaves a real gain of 131%, or 5.1% a year after inflation. A UK holder counting in pounds saw up 338%, which comes to up 168% once UK CPI is taken out. These are price returns: dividends are not included, so a holder who reinvested them did better.
How has GLD done against money printing?
The US M2 money supply grew 174% since 2010. M2 counts the cash, current accounts and savings deposits held in the US, so it measures how much new money was created rather than how much shop prices rose. Against it, GLD is up 30.7%.
What is GLD's real return over 10 years?
Over the 10 years to October 2026, GLD returned 215% in dollars (12.2% a year). After US inflation that is up 128%, 8.6% a year. In pounds after UK inflation it is up 105%.
What is the GLD price today?
The last price we have for GLD is $381.54, down 0.0% on the day, as of 23:54 BST on 13 Oct 2026. We get US prices from Nasdaq and during trading hours they can be up to 15 minutes behind, so if you are about to trade you'll want the live quote from your broker rather than ours. Over the last month the fund has moved −4.3% and over the last year +0.9%.
What does GLD invest in?
An exchange-traded fund backed by physical gold bullion. Each share represents a fraction of an ounce held in vaults. GLD launched in November 2004 and is one of the largest gold funds in the world. Its share price follows the gold price, less a small annual fee taken out of the gold it holds.
How has GLD performed over the past year?
Over the past 12 months GLD is up 0.9%, and since the start of the year it is down 3.7%. We put it next to the S&P 500 (through the SPY fund) because that is the obvious alternative for most people weighing up GLD, and it moved +17.4% over the same 12 months, a gap of 16.5 points in the S&P 500's favour. The figures are price changes only, so any dividends or interest the fund paid out come on top.
Is GLD above its 200-day moving average?
No, it's 8.1% under it at the moment. GLD's last price of $381.54 compares with a 200-day average of $415.36, and the 50-day average of $397.44 is below the 200-day too, which has been the case since 30 Jun 2026, when the two lines last crossed. We show the 200-day line because it averages about ten months of closing prices, so a single bad week hardly moves it, and when we look at a chart it's the quickest way to see whether a fund has been rising or falling over the longer run, even if it can't tell us where the price goes from here.
How volatile is GLD compared with other funds?
Over the past 30 days GLD's annualised volatility has been 22.1%. If that number feels abstract, it works out at roughly a 1.4% move on an ordinary day. It is the 2nd most volatile of the 6 funds and indices we track and the median for the group is 14.6%, so at the moment it is one of the jumpier ones. The biggest single-day swings of the past year were +6.4% on 3 Feb 2026 and −10.3% on 30 Jan 2026.
Important information
Capital at risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Educational information only, not financial advice. Read our disclaimer.
Gold ETF: what the numbers say
Claude Haiku ·SPDR Gold Shares, known as the Gold ETF, closed at $381.67 today, down 0.13% with the US market open. The price sits 23% below its 52-week closing high of $495.90, reached on 29 January 2026, and 5.3% above its 52-week closing low of $362.32, recorded on 4 November 2025. It also trades below both its 50-day average of $397.44 and its 200-day average of $415.37.
Read the full summary Show less
The trend score stands at 31, a Downtrend, although the components differ sharply. The trend component scores zero, while momentum reads 39 and the drawdown measure 54. RSI is 43.5, the shares have fallen 4.29% over 30 days, and annualised volatility is 22.1%. Over the past year the fund has gained 0.95%. Among related assets, the S&P 500 ETF slipped 0.04% today, Berkshire Hathaway rose 0.76% today and Bitcoin gained 0.83% in the past 24 hours.
Written by AI from this site's live data and checked figure by figure before publishing. Educational only, not financial advice.