Historical Crude Oil Prices (Table)

Updated January 8, 2009

This table shows the Annual Average Crude Oil Price from 1946 to the present. Prices are adjusted for Inflation to November 2008 prices using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) as presented by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Note: Since these 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 an all-time low in 1998 (lower than the price in 1946)! And then just ten years later Oil prices were at the all time high for crude oil (above the 1979-1980 prices) in real inflation adjusted terms (although not quite on an annual basis).

Prices are based on historical free market (stripper) prices of Illinois Crude as presented by IOGA . Price controlled prices were lower during the 1970's but resulted in artificially created gas lines and shortages and do not reflect the true free market price.

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