The price of gold fell 14% over the course of March, dropping from $5,312.10 per ounce on March 2 to $4,578.12 per ounce on March 31, according to a price chart from Priority Gold. The decline amounted to roughly $734 per ounce in a single month.

The March drop occurred during what has been a longer-term period of price increases for the precious metal. Gold has increased over recent years, and the commodity is historically known for intermittent price dips. According to one source, such dips have at times preceded subsequent price surges, though that pattern has not held in every instance.

For consumers and investors considering purchases of physical gold, the spot price does not necessarily reflect the final transaction cost. Dealers typically mark up the spot price of gold bullion to account for their profit margins and operational expenses. As a result, the purchase price for one ounce of gold bullion may be closer to $5,000 per ounce after dealer markups are included, even when the underlying spot price sits below that threshold.

The size of dealer markups can vary depending on the seller, the form of the gold product, and prevailing market conditions.

Gold is also accessible to investors through channels beyond direct purchases of physical bullion. Available investment types include gold individual retirement accounts, commonly known as gold IRAs, which allow holders to include gold within tax-advantaged retirement portfolios, and gold exchange-traded funds, known as ETFs, which track the price of gold and trade on stock exchanges.

The price data referenced in this report was sourced from Priority Gold, a gold dealer. The cause of the March decline was not attributed to any specific economic event or market condition in the available data.