United Kingdom · GBP · March 2020
Gold Price in United Kingdom — March 2020
In March 2020, the gold price in United Kingdom closed at approximately £1,178 per troy ounce, equivalent to £442 per tola or £38 per gram. This represents a +1.07% change on the month (£1,165 open → £1,178 close).
Open
£1,165
per troy ounce
Close
£1,178
per troy ounce
High
£1,247
per troy ounce
Low
£1,079
per troy ounce
All unit prices at March 2020 close — United Kingdom
| Unit | Weight | Closing GBP price |
|---|---|---|
| Troy ounce | 31.1035 g | £1,178 |
| Gram | 1.0000 g | £38 |
| 10 grams | 10 g | £379 |
| Kilogram | 1,000 g | £37,872 |
| Tola | 11.664 g | £442 |
Karat-purity breakdown at March 2020 close
| Karat | Per gram | Per tola |
|---|---|---|
| 24K | £38 | £441 |
| 22K | £35 | £405 |
| 21K | £33 | £387 |
| 18K | £28 | £331 |
| 14K | £22 | £258 |
| 10K | £16 | £184 |
Daily gold price in GBP — March 2020
March 2020 gold market: Liquidity crash, then a historic policy rescue
VolatileA liquidation low and a record policy-driven reversal in one month.
March was a tale of two halves. As COVID lockdowns hit, a desperate dash for cash drove gold down to roughly $1,470 by mid-month even as stocks crashed. Then the Federal Reserve cut rates to zero and announced unlimited quantitative easing, and gold reversed sharply to close near $1,575. The episode defined the rest of gold's year.
The mid-March plunge confused many newcomers: how could gold fall while the world was ending? The answer is plumbing. In a true liquidity crisis, leveraged investors must sell their most liquid, profitable holdings to meet margin calls, and gold is among the easiest assets to sell. Once the Federal Reserve removed the cash shortage on March 23 with a pledge of unlimited bond-buying, the artificial selling pressure vanished and gold's fundamentals — collapsing real yields and exploding money supply — took over. The V-shaped recovery from $1,470 set the template for a historic run.
What drove gold in March 2020
- COVID liquidity crisis & margin calls
- Fed cuts to zero (Mar 15)
- unlimited QE announced (Mar 23)
- unprecedented fiscal stimulus
Key events in March 2020
- Mar 11WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic
- Mar 15Fed slashes rates to 0–0.25% and restarts QE
- Mar 23Fed pledges unlimited asset purchases; gold bottoms and turns up
What happened next
The Fed's unlimited-QE backstop launched gold on a five-month surge to its August all-time high.
For gold buyers in United Kingdom
The mid-March low near $1,470 proved the best buying opportunity of the year — but only for those who understood the dip was a liquidity event, not a verdict on gold.
Key terms this month
- Quantitative easing (QE):
- A central bank creating money to buy bonds, lowering yields and increasing the money supply — historically supportive for gold.
- Dash for cash:
- A crisis scramble in which investors sell almost everything, even safe assets, to raise US dollars.
Related months to read
The 2020 gold market: COVID crash, recovery, and the all-time high above $2,000
March 2020 saw a brief gold sell-off during COVID liquidity panic (-12% in 2 weeks) before the metal rocketed to an all-time high of $2,075 in August. Year close: $1,898 — gold's best year since 2010.
Key drivers in 2020
COVID pandemic, unlimited Fed QE, fiscal stimulus, negative real rates, USD weakness
2020 XAU/USD high
$2,075 (Aug)
2020 XAU/USD low
$1,452 (Mar)
Era context — The modern bull market (2019 to today)
Gold's second major bull market of the 21st century. Driven by COVID stimulus, Russia sanctions, central-bank accumulation at record levels, and the structural shift toward a multi-polar reserve system. New all-time highs reached repeatedly since 2020.
The United Kingdom gold market
The UK retail gold market quotes per gram, with 9K being the historically dominant jewellery standard alongside 18K and 22K. Investment-grade gold (bars and coins, ≥99.5% purity) is VAT-exempt under the EU Gold Directive (preserved post-Brexit). Sovereigns and Britannia coins issued by The Royal Mint also enjoy capital-gains-tax exemption for UK residents.
Standard quote unit
gram
Common purity
9K
Currency
GBP (£)
Daily gold price — March 2020, United Kingdom
£1,165
$1,591.93/oz
£1,171
$1,599.70/oz
£1,183
$1,615.50/oz
£1,202
$1,641.90/oz
£1,215
$1,659.60/oz
£1,233
$1,683.70/oz
£1,247
$1,703.28/oz
£1,224
$1,672.50/oz
£1,212
$1,655.70/oz
£1,211
$1,653.80/oz
£1,150
$1,570.70/oz
£1,144
$1,562.80/oz
£1,153
$1,575.45/oz
£1,089
$1,487.70/oz
£1,125
$1,536.20/oz
£1,097
$1,498.20/oz
£1,079
$1,474.30/oz
£1,094
$1,494.40/oz
£1,143
$1,561.23/oz
£1,117
$1,525.40/oz
£1,176
$1,605.80/oz
£1,175
$1,605.50/oz
£1,197
$1,634.80/oz
£1,184
$1,617.30/oz
£1,195
$1,632.26/oz
£1,185
$1,618.30/oz
£1,178
$1,609.00/oz
How United Kingdom gold prices are calculated on this page
Source. The international XAU/USD spot price comes from gold-api.com's historical archive (London PM-fix benchmark). The GBP/USD exchange rate comes from exchangerate-api.com's 2020 year-end snapshot.
Conversion. Every GBP figure on this page is computed as XAU/USD price × GBP/USD rate. We use the year-end exchange rate consistently across all March 2020 prices on this page.
Per-unit math. Per-gram = per-ounce ÷ 31.1035. Per-tola = per-gram × 11.664. Per-10g = per-gram × 10. Per-kilo = per-gram × 1000. Karat values multiply per-gram by the purity ratio (24K = 0.999, 22K = 0.916, 21K = 0.875, 18K = 0.750, 14K = 0.585, 10K = 0.417).
What this page does NOT include. Local sales tax / VAT, customs duty on imports, dealer making charges, jewellery design premiums, or coin numismatic premiums. To go from this pure-metal value to a final retail rate in United Kingdom, add the country-specific levies described in the “United Kingdomgold market” section above.
FAQ — United Kingdom gold price in March 2020
What was the gold price in United Kingdom in March 2020?
In March 2020, gold in United Kingdom opened at £1,165/oz and closed at £1,178/oz — a move of +1.07% on the month. Per tola: ≈£442; per gram: ≈£38; per 10g: ≈£379.
What was the 24K gold rate per tola in United Kingdom in March 2020?
The 24K gold rate per tola in United Kingdom at the March 2020 close was approximately £442, derived from international XAU/USD spot of $1,609.00/oz times the 2020-end GBP/USD exchange rate of 0.7321. This is pure metal value; final retail rates include local taxes and dealer making charges.
What was the 9K gold rate per gram in United Kingdom in March 2020?
United Kingdom's most-quoted retail standard is 9K per gram. At the March 2020 close, that worked out to approximately £22 (9K pure-metal value). Add local taxes and making charges for the final retail rate.
How was the local currency price calculated?
GBP prices on this page are computed from the verified international XAU/USD spot price for March 2020 (sourced from gold-api.com), multiplied by the 2020-end GBP/USD exchange rate from exchangerate-api.com. We use year-end rates as a single reference point for the entire month — for most stable currencies the within-year FX drift is small, but during currency crises (PKR 2022–23, TRY 2022, ARS 2024 etc.) the actual mid-month rate may differ.
Why does the retail price in shops differ from this number?
The £ figures here represent the international gold spot price converted to GBP at the 2020-end exchange rate. United Kingdom's retail jewellers add (1) import duties and sales tax (varies by SKU and karat), (2) dealer making charges (typically 3–12% of metal value), and (3) a small premium for purity certification on bars. Always verify the exact day's retail rate with a reputable local dealer before transacting.
Why did gold fall in mid-March 2020 if it's a safe haven?
During the COVID crash, investors and funds sold gold to raise cash and meet margin calls across falling markets. Once the Federal Reserve flooded the system with liquidity on March 23, gold rebounded quickly.
Want today's rate in United Kingdom? See live gold prices in United Kingdom with minute-by-minute updates and per-karat breakdowns.
Different month or year? Use the prev / next buttons above, or jump to the full 2020 archive or the USD-only March 2020 page with the country-by-country list at the bottom.
Other markets? Compare March 2020 prices across other major gold-trading countries: Pakistan, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, United States.
Disclaimer: Historical gold prices on this page reflect the international XAU/USD spot price for the requested period, converted to GBP at the 2020-end exchange rate. They are intended for informational and educational use only and do not constitute investment advice or a price quote for buying or selling physical gold today. Always verify current local rates with a reputable bullion dealer in United Kingdom before transacting.