InflationData.com is your source for understandable inflation data and consumer price index information

Historical Oil Prices

Home > Inflation > Historical Oil Prices

Crude Oil Prices from 1949- Present
Actual and Inflation adjusted in table form.

Historical Crude Oil Prices (Table)

Updated January 16, 2008

This table shows the Annual Average Crude Oil Price from 1946 to the present. Prices are adjusted for Inflation to December 2007 prices using the CPI-U.

Note: Since they are ANNUAL Averages they will not show the absolute peak price and will differ slightly from the Monthly Averages in our Oil Price Data in Chart Form.

Also note that although the monthly peak occurred in December 1979 the annual peak didn't occur until 1980 since the average of all the monthly prices was higher in 1980.

Inflation adjusted prices reached all-time low in 1998 (lower than the price in 1946)! And now just ten years later we are nearing the all time high.

Prices are based on historical free market (stripper) prices of Illinois Crude as presented by IOGA . Price controlled prices would be lower during the 1970's but resulted in gas lines and shortages.

Annual Average Domestic Crude Oil Prices
1949-Present
	U.S. Average
	(in $/bbl.)
Year	Nominal	Inflation Adjusted 2007
1946	$1.63	$17.26
1947	$2.16	$20.29
1948	$2.77	$24.21
1949	$2.77	$24.44
1950	$2.77	$24.18
1951	$2.77	$22.42
1952	$2.77	$21.91
1953	$2.92	$22.88
1954	$2.99	$23.39
1955	$2.93	$22.94
1956	$2.94	$22.74
1957	$3.14	$23.46
1958	$3.00	$21.83
1959	$3.00	$21.62
1960	$2.91	$20.69
1961	$2.85	$20.03
1962	$2.85	$19.79
1963	$2.91	$19.97
1964	$3.00	$20.32
1965	$3.01	$20.05
1966	$3.10	$20.06
1967	$3.12	$19.65
1968	$3.18	$19.17
1969	$3.32	$19.02
1970	$3.39	$18.35
1971	$3.60	$18.68
1972	$3.60	$20.03
1973	$4.75	$22.29
1974	$9.35	$39.77
1975	$12.21	$47.63
1976	$13.10	$48.36
1977	$14.40	$49.88
1978	$14.95	$48.17
1979	$25.10	$71.96
1980	$37.42	$95.50
1981	$35.75	$82.70
1982	$31.83	$69.33
1983	$29.08	$61.34
1984	$28.75	$58.14
1985	$26.92	$52.56
1986	$14.44	$27.66
1987	$17.75	$32.81
1988	$14.87	$26.45
1989	$18.33	$31.05
1990	$23.19	$37.17
1991	$20.20	$31.15
1992	$19.25	$28.81
1993	$16.75	$24.36
1994	$15.66	$22.19
1995	$16.75	$23.09
1996	$20.46	$27.38
1997	$18.64	$24.40
1998	$11.91	$15.35
1999	$16.56	$20.83
2000	$27.39	$33.39
2001	$23.00	$27.29
2002	$22.81	$26.61
2003	$27.69	$31.62
2004	$37.66	$41.84
2005	$50.04	$53.77
2006	$58.30	$60.73
2007	$64.20	$64.92

Webmasters if you would like to use any of our charts or tables please check our usage policy.

Has this table been helpful? We appreciate your feedback.

Subscribe to our FREE monthly E-Zine and we will notify you when this Table has been updated!

Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.

Home • CPI-U • Inflation • About us • Feedback • FAQs • Site Map

©2003-2007 InflationData.com. All rights reserved.
InflationData.com is affiliated with Financial Trend Forecaster, a publication of Capital Professional Services.
See our Privacy Statement. Send questions to
Site designed by of Intergalactic Web Designers.