Gold Gets Pummeled In 2013

NEW YORK (CBSMiami) – As the Great Recession's economic impact grew over the last several years, many investors flocked to gold.

But, if those investors weren't already out of the gold market, they likely wish they were as 2014 begins.

The price of gold closed out its worst year since 1981 as the value of gold sank 28 percent in 2013. The price peaked in 2011 at more than $1,900 an ounce, but has steadily declined since then.

Part of the reason for the highly inflated prices was fear that U.S. monetary policies would send inflation higher and thus weaken the value of the dollar. However, neither of those happened as interest rates remained historically low, inflation was nearly non-existent, and the dollar remained strong.

As a result, gold prices began to plummet and by the close of business Tuesday, the price had dropped to $1,202.30 an ounce.