Energy Prices & Inflation (Gasoline, Electricity and Fuel Oil)

Energy prices increased by 2.3% in February after falling by 0.9% in January, according to data released on March 12, 2024, by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the past year, they declined by 1.9% after falling by 4.6% previously.

Chart: Annual Change in Energy Prices

The chart below illustrates the average change in energy prices (inflation) per calendar year since 2000. As 2024 is not yet complete, the chart displays the change in energy prices from January 2023 to February 2024.

The BLS surveys energy prices, including gasoline, electricity, fuel oil, and utility (piped) gas prices, in cities across the nation. These prices are averaged and published monthly as part of the bureau’s overall "energy" index.

Chart: Energy Prices by Month and Year

The chart below plots some of those energy prices and shows their changes from January 2016 to February 2024. To view the data, simply hover over the chart. You can also select an energy’s legend key located on the right of the chart by clicking or tapping on it. This will highlight the selected energy line in the chart, making it easy to locate and track its pricing over the years.

Table of Inflation Rates for Energy (Percent Change in Energy Prices 1958-2024)

The following table display "energy" inflation on an annual basis by month and calendar year. In clearer terms, it shows the percent increase or decrease in energy prices over the listed periods. As the figures are 12-month based, look to the December column to find the overall change in food prices by calendar year. The last column, "Ave," shows the average inflation rate for energy by year.

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ave
1958 1.9 -0.5 -0.5 -0.9 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.9 0.9 1.4 -0.5 -0.9 0.0
1959 -0.9 1.4 1.4 2.3 1.4 1.4 0.5 0.5 1.4 2.8 3.7 4.7 1.9
1960 4.2 2.8 2.3 2.3 1.8 2.8 3.2 3.2 2.7 0.9 1.8 1.3 2.3
1961 1.8 1.8 1.8 -0.4 0.5 0.0 0.0 -0.4 0.0 0.0 -0.4 -1.3 0.4
1962 -1.3 -0.4 -0.9 2.3 1.4 0.4 -0.9 -0.4 0.9 1.3 0.4 2.2 0.4
1963 1.8 0.4 0.9 -0.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 0.9 -0.9 -0.4 -0.4 -0.9 0.0
1964 0.0 -2.2 -0.4 0.0 -0.4 0.4 -0.4 0.0 -0.4 -0.9 -0.4 0.0 -0.4
1965 -0.4 2.3 0.4 1.8 2.7 2.2 2.2 1.8 2.7 2.2 2.7 1.8 1.8
1966 1.3 2.2 2.2 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7
1967 2.2 2.2 2.2 3.5 3.0 2.1 1.7 2.6 2.6 2.1 2.1 1.7 2.1
1968 1.7 1.7 1.7 0.4 0.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.3 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7
1969 1.7 1.2 2.5 3.8 2.9 3.3 2.9 2.5 2.5 2.9 2.0 2.9 2.5
1970 2.9 2.9 1.2 2.4 2.8 1.2 2.4 2.0 2.8 3.6 4.0 4.8 2.8
1971 4.8 4.8 5.2 2.4 2.7 4.0 3.1 5.5 5.1 3.9 3.1 3.1 3.9
1972 2.7 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.4 2.7 3.0 1.9 2.6 2.6 3.7 2.6 2.6
1973 3.7 5.2 5.2 6.7 6.6 8.5 8.1 7.7 6.5 9.1 12.6 17.0 8.1
1974 22.1 25.4 30.3 31.4 32.9 32.1 33.4 33.3 33.7 29.6 25.3 21.6 29.6
1975 16.4 13.2 8.9 8.0 7.3 8.3 9.7 10.2 10.9 11.8 12.0 11.4 10.5
1976 10.6 9.5 8.7 7.6 7.5 7.4 5.8 5.6 5.3 5.7 5.9 7.1 7.1
1977 7.7 9.1 10.7 11.6 11.1 10.2 9.9 9.9 9.2 9.1 8.4 7.2 9.5
1978 6.5 5.8 5.4 5.1 5.5 6.0 6.2 6.4 7.0 7.4 7.0 7.9 6.3
1979 9.3 10.2 12.5 16.0 19.7 24.7 29.1 32.5 35.3 35.7 36.2 37.5 25.1
1980 41.5 46.6 47.1 43.5 39.3 33.5 29.1 25.1 21.7 19.6 19.0 18.0 30.9
1981 16.5 16.4 15.2 14.3 13.3 12.7 12.2 12.3 12.7 12.8 13.2 11.9 13.6
1982 9.0 2.9 -0.7 -3.5 -2.2 1.0 2.1 2.0 1.7 2.4 2.0 1.3 1.5
1983 -0.4 -1.5 -1.5 3.6 4.8 2.1 1.3 1.2 1.2 0.0 -0.6 -0.5 0.7
1984 0.5 3.3 4.5 2.8 1.1 0.3 -0.4 -0.6 -0.1 0.4 0.4 0.2 1.0
1985 -0.5 -2.1 -0.3 0.7 1.4 2.0 2.1 1.6 0.9 0.1 0.8 1.8 0.7
1986 2.4 -0.6 -8.5 -14.7 -14.9 -12.9 -16.2 -17.3 -16.7 -18.4 -19.6 -19.7 -13.2
1987 -17.1 -12.1 -5.6 0.2 -0.2 0.0 4.4 8.4 7.5 8.1 9.3 8.2 0.5
1988 4.2 1.6 0.8 1.0 1.5 0.3 0.3 -0.4 -0.4 0.1 -0.1 0.5 0.8
1989 1.8 2.6 3.8 8.7 9.8 8.8 7.8 5.1 4.4 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.6
1990 9.7 8.0 6.3 0.8 -0.7 0.5 0.4 6.8 13.5 17.8 19.0 18.1 8.3
1991 9.7 6.6 4.4 4.0 5.6 4.0 3.8 -0.7 -4.8 -8.6 -8.2 -7.4 0.4
1992 -6.5 -3.7 -0.8 0.0 0.3 2.3 3.2 2.4 2.2 2.7 2.7 2.0 0.5
1993 3.3 3.2 3.6 3.6 2.0 0.6 -0.2 -0.2 -0.7 0.9 -0.8 -1.4 1.2
1994 -2.0 -0.2 -0.6 -1.1 -1.4 -0.8 0.9 3.1 2.9 0.4 1.9 2.2 0.4
1995 2.9 1.7 1.3 1.9 3.3 3.4 1.2 -1.0 -1.8 -1.2 -2.7 -1.3 0.6
1996 0.8 1.2 2.8 5.9 6.2 3.5 4.1 3.9 5.2 5.7 8.1 8.6 4.7
1997 7.9 7.8 4.8 0.0 -2.7 -0.7 -1.0 0.8 2.0 0.9 -0.4 -3.4 1.3
1998 -6.5 -8.8 -8.6 -7.4 -5.6 -5.9 -5.6 -7.7 -9.8 -9.1 -9.2 -8.8 -7.7
1999 -7.4 -5.7 -3.1 3.0 1.7 1.0 3.3 7.2 10.2 10.2 10.6 13.4 3.6
2000 14.7 19.9 24.2 15.0 14.6 21.3 19.3 13.1 15.4 15.9 16.0 14.2 16.9
2001 17.8 13.1 6.0 10.3 15.8 8.4 2.1 2.8 1.5 -5.6 -10.1 -13.0 3.8
2002 -15.7 -15.9 -10.7 -8.2 -12.3 -11.1 -5.2 -2.8 -4.8 3.0 8.0 10.7 -5.9
2003 14.1 22.0 23.4 13.0 9.0 9.3 9.0 11.8 14.7 8.8 6.2 6.9 12.2
2004 7.8 3.8 0.4 5.6 15.0 17.0 14.3 10.5 6.7 15.2 19.2 16.6 10.9
2005 10.6 10.4 12.4 17.1 9.9 7.3 14.2 20.2 34.8 29.5 18.3 17.1 17.0
2006 24.8 20.1 17.3 17.8 23.6 23.3 20.5 15.1 -4.3 -11.3 -3.8 2.9 11.2
2007 -3.1 -1.0 4.4 2.9 4.7 4.6 1.0 -2.5 5.3 14.5 21.4 17.4 5.5
2008 19.6 18.9 17.0 15.9 17.4 24.7 29.3 27.2 23.1 11.5 -13.3 -21.3 13.9
2009 -20.4 -18.5 -23.0 -25.2 -27.3 -25.5 -28.1 -23.0 -21.6 -14.0 7.4 18.2 -18.4
2010 19.1 14.4 18.3 18.5 14.7 3.0 5.2 3.8 3.8 5.9 3.9 7.7 9.5
2011 7.3 11.0 15.5 19.0 21.5 20.1 19.0 18.4 19.3 14.2 12.4 6.6 15.4
2012 6.1 7.0 4.6 0.9 -3.9 -3.9 -5.0 -0.6 2.3 4.0 0.3 0.5 0.9
2013 -1.0 2.3 -1.6 -4.3 -1.0 3.2 4.7 -0.1 -3.1 -4.8 -2.4 0.5 -0.7
2014 2.1 -2.5 0.4 3.3 3.3 3.2 2.6 0.4 -0.6 -1.6 -4.8 -10.6 -0.3
2015 -19.6 -18.8 -18.3 -19.4 -16.3 -15.0 -14.8 -15.0 -18.4 -17.1 -14.7 -12.6 -16.7
2016 -6.5 -12.5 -12.6 -8.9 -10.1 -9.4 -10.9 -9.2 -2.9 0.1 1.1 5.4 -6.6
2017 10.8 15.2 10.9 9.3 5.4 2.3 3.4 6.4 10.1 6.4 9.4 6.9 7.9
2018 5.5 7.7 7.0 7.9 11.7 12.0 12.1 10.2 4.8 8.9 3.1 -0.3 7.5
2019 -4.8 -5.0 -0.4 1.7 -0.5 -3.4 -2.0 -4.4 -4.8 -4.2 -0.6 3.4 -2.1
2020 6.2 2.8 -5.7 -17.7 -18.9 -12.6 -11.2 -9.0 -7.7 -9.2 -9.4 -7.0 -8.5
2021 -3.6 2.4 13.2 25.1 28.5 24.5 23.8 25.0 24.8 30.0 33.3 29.3 21.0
2022 27.0 25.6 32.0 30.3 34.6 41.6 32.9 23.8 19.8 17.6 13.1 7.3 25.2
2023 8.7 5.2 -6.4 -5.1 -11.7 -16.7 -12.5 -3.6 -0.5 -4.5 -5.4 -2.0 -5.0
2024 -4.6 -1.9 Avail.
April
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Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Energy in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted. Base Period: 1982-84=100.