What the data shows
An exchange rate tells you how much one currency is worth in another. This tool matches a past commodity price with an exchange rate from the same month. It does not use today’s rate to convert every past price.
Historical commodity prices in local currency and real terms.
A price can change because the material costs more, because currencies change value, or because money buys less than before. This tool helps you explore those differences in historical prices.
Why the same old price can tell different stories.
A commodity price, an exchange rate and inflation each answer a different question.
Past dollar price
Begin with the commodity price in its month.
Same-month exchange rate
Convert it using the currency value from that date.
Optional US inflation
CPI estimates how buying power changed over time.
One matched history
Only dates with the needed data can be shown.
What this page helps you understand.
Try it in three steps
- Choose a commodity.
- Choose the currency you want to see.
- Select “Update analysis.” To explore US inflation, use USD and turn on “Adjust with US CPI.”
CPI is the Consumer Price Index, a measure of changes in prices paid by consumers.
A worked example
Suppose a material cost $100 in a past month, and one dollar bought 0.90 euros that month. The converted price is €90. Separately, if the US CPI rose from 100 to 120, a $100 past price becomes $120 in the later period’s purchasing power.
Explore the data.
Monthly values are matched by date.
Preparing stored observations…
What the changes look like.
These summary numbers describe the dates shown in the chart. They tell you what happened in the past; they do not predict what happens next.
See and download the numbers.
The table makes exact values easier to check. A CSV download is a simple table file that opens in most spreadsheet programs.
Each month is matched with that month’s exchange rate. The inflation option uses the US Consumer Price Index and puts old prices into the buying power of the latest matching period. It does not measure inflation in another country.
How this connects to other prices.
Our guide to exchange rates and metal prices explains why a local price moves even when the dollar price does not. For today’s value in your currency, use the currency menu on the gold or silver page.
How to read the results.
Each month uses its own exchange rate
A price from March 2010 is converted with the March 2010 rate, not today’s. That is the difference between this tool and the currency menu on a price page, which applies the latest rate to every date.
Two things move a local price
A local price can rise because the dollar price rose, because your currency weakened, or both. Compare the USD line with the converted line to see which one did the work.
What the summary numbers mean
“Latest” is the last value in the displayed range, not necessarily today’s. For CAGR, volatility, drawdown and correlation, see the full guide to reading the workbench results.
“Real” means adjusted for inflation, not more accurate.
Inflation means prices in general rise, so the same money buys less. US CPI adjustment puts past values into the purchasing power of the latest matching CPI period in the displayed data. It is not today’s dollars unless that period is current. US CPI does not measure inflation in your own country, even if you also choose a different currency.
What is in a download?
A CSV file is a table you can open in a spreadsheet. The download links give you the stored source observations, while the on-page table shows the latest values after your chosen changes, such as indexing or currency conversion. They may therefore show different numbers. Keep the dates, units and source names with any figures you reuse.
About the examples: Round numbers in these explanations are for learning. They are not current market quotes or predictions. “Not enough data” means a statistic cannot be calculated from the available observations.
Where the data comes from.
These links lead to the organisations or methods behind the numbers. New figures appear here after they are published and added to this site. A missing value means data is unavailable, not that the price or supply is zero.
World Bank Pink Sheet Monthly commodity benchmark histories.
ECB reference FX Monthly averages derived from dated reference observations.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U all items, not seasonally adjusted.