Gold vs Commodities Since 1960
In September 2026 an ounce of gold (monthly average $4,319) bought 42.2 barrels of crude oil, 298 kg of copper, 12,447 kg of wheat and 2.42 ounces of platinum. Against 14 of the 15 commodities here, gold buys more than in at least 80% of months since 1960 (the exceptions: silver).
| 1 oz gold buys | Sep 2026 | Average | Pctile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil barrels | 42.2 | 20.6 | 96 |
| Natural gas mmBtu | 1,464 | 304 | 99 |
| Copper kg | 298 | 159 | 95 |
| Aluminium kg | 1,316 | 358 | 98 |
| Platinum ounces | 2.42 | 0.90 | 97 |
| Silver ounces | 66.9 | 55.4 | 64 |
| Wheat kg | 12,447 | 3,209 | 97 |
| Corn kg | 18,026 | 4,141 | 98 |
| Soybeans kg | 8,242 | 1,796 | 98 |
| Rice kg | 8,961 | 1,774 | 98 |
| Sugar kg | 10,534 | 2,323 | 98 |
| Coffee kg | 595 | 195 | 99 |
| Cocoa kg | 730 | 283 | 95 |
| Cotton kg | 2,057 | 389 | 98 |
| Beef kg | 630 | 188 | 100 |
Gold vs Commodities: FAQ
How many barrels of oil does an ounce of gold buy?
In September 2026 one ounce of gold bought 42.2 barrels of crude oil, using the World Bank's monthly average prices. The average since 1960 is 20.6 barrels; the highest was 80.1 in April 2020 and the lowest 6.76 in June 2008.
Is gold expensive compared with other commodities?
It depends on the commodity. Our percentile column compares the latest month with every month since 1960: 100 means gold has never bought more of that commodity, 0 that it has never bought less. Gold is in the top fifth of its history against oil, natural gas, copper, aluminium, platinum, wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, beef.
Where does the data come from?
The World Bank's Commodity Price Data, known as the Pink Sheet: monthly average prices in US dollars since January 1960, updated early each month and published under a CC BY 4.0 licence. The ratios are our calculations.
Source: World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), monthly average prices in US dollars (file updated October 02, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0. Ratios, averages, percentiles and decade figures are Corgano's calculations from those monthly averages. Gold was fixed at $35 an ounce until 1968–1971, so changes before then reflect the other commodity's price.
See also: gold vs gasoline · Dow/gold ratio · gold/silver ratio · gold adjusted for inflation.
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@misc{corgano2026goldvscommoditiessince, author = {{Corgano}}, title = {Gold vs Commodities Since 1960}, howpublished = {\url{https://goldprice.corgano.com/gold-vs-commodities}}, year = {2026}, note = {Corgano Gold Price, accessed 2026-10-26}}