Gold after OPEC oil embargo (17 Oct 1973)
After OPEC oil embargo on 17 Oct 1973, gold was 25.2% higher three months on and 54.4% higher twelve months on, measured from the Sep 1973 monthly average of $103 a troy ounce.
- Gold before
- $103
- Sep 1973
- Gold +3 months
- +25.2%
- Gold +12 months
- +54.4%
- Silver +12 months
- +77.8%
In context
Arab oil producers (OAPEC) cut output and embargoed oil to the United States over its support for Israel in the October War; oil prices roughly quadrupled by early 1974.
Over the same months silver was 33.3% higher three months on and 77.8% higher twelve months on.
Of the 10 geopolitical or monetary shocks on the chart with a full year after them, this ranks 3rd for gold twelve months on.
The geopolitical or monetary shock before it on the chart: Off the gold standard (15 Aug 1971).
The one after: Volcker shock (6 Oct 1979).
Monthly average prices in U.S. dollars per troy ounce (Kitco.com and the World Bank Pink Sheet), from the last full month before a period to its last full month; the record runs Feb 1971 to Oct 2026. What the record did, not a forecast. Source: history.state.gov.
Updated Oct 2026 · record through Oct 2026