Inflation Adjusted Prices

What is the inflation adjusted price of common commodities? Check out these pages for specific charts and commentary.

Historical Oil Prices Chart – This Chart compares Monthly Average Oil Prices with their Inflation Adjusted Oil Price.

Historical Crude Oil Prices (Table) – The first table shows Annual Average Crude Oil Prices from 1946 to the present. Prices are adjusted for Inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) as presented by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second table shows average monthly crude oil prices from 2011.

Inflation Adjusted Electricity Prices – Residential electricity prices in the U.S. have risen from an average of 7.83 cents per kilowatt hour in 1990 to an average of 11.44 cents per kwh in 2010. This is a 46% increase in 20 years and sounds like a lot but…

Gold and Inflation – For those who argue that Gold is an inflation hedge all they have to do is look at the chart and they will see that it is not a perfect (or even imperfect) inflation hedge.

Inflation Adjusted Gasoline Prices – In 1969 gasoline was only $0.35 a gallon. By 1976 it had risen to $0.60 per gallon. And by 1980 – 81 we were shocked as gas prices rose above $1.00 for the first time. In only 12 years gasoline had risen a full dollar from $0.35 to $1.35. That is an increase of 286% in 12 years! Because the overall value of the dollar has fallen, in order to compare the cost of gasoline over longer periods of time it is necessary to adjust the price for inflation.

Inflation Adjusted NYSE Stock Index – With the recent Wall Street crash and recovery, how does the Stock Market compare? Where has the stock market really gone over the long run? Or is the upward trend an illusion based on inflation?

Inflation Indexed Bonds (i-Bonds) are supposed to protect you from inflation while providing a reasonable return. How well have they done?

What is the Inflation Adjusted Price of Corn? – Corn has almost quadrupled in price in nominal terms since 2000. There has been speculation that this dramatic increase in the price of corn is the result of ethanol becoming part of the gasoline mix. But obviously that is only part of the equation. The real question is, “What is the price of corn in real (inflation adjusted) terms.

Sky Rocketing College Costs – Economists predict the cost of attending state colleges will soar to $120,000 by 2015. Currently over $40 billion in student loan debt has forced many former students into financial bondage or even bankruptcy.

Natural Gas Prices

Inflation Adjusted Mortgage Rates

Inflation Adjusted Housing Prices

Inflation Adjusted Movie Revenues