The average price of gasoline increased 9.1% in the 12 months ended September as compared to the 20.3% surge in August, according to the most recent inflation data published October 11, 2018 by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Gasoline is an important category reported within the BLS’s monthly report on consumer inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI). "Gasoline (all types)" is listed as a subcategory under the overall "Energy" index for commodities.
The above chart shows some of the most important figures reported in the most recent CPI report. Gasoline inflation is a component of the CPI’s "all items" index, as well as the Energy index of course, and so they are part of the data set that is used in calculating inflation rates. Because gas prices tend to be more volatile, they are stripped out when calculating core inflation rates.
This chart shows U.S. gasoline inflation on an annual basis over the last decade:
*For 2018, the most recent inflation monthly data (12-month based) is displayed in the chart.
Table: Gasoline Inflation by Month and Year (1968-2018)
The below table shows the percent increase or decrease in gas prices on an annual basis by month and calendar year. As the BLS-provided figures below are 12-month periods, look to the December column to find the overall change in gas prices by calendar year.
| YEAR | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
| 1968 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| 1969 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| 1970 | 1.8 | 1.8 | -1.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | -1.1 | 1.1 | -0.7 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| 1971 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 2.2 | -2.8 | -2.1 | -0.4 | -2.1 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| 1972 | -0.7 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 2.8 |
| 1973 | 3.5 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 9.8 | 6.5 | 10.7 | 14.8 | 19.6 |
| 1974 | 26.7 | 32.7 | 41.6 | 41.5 | 43.3 | 40.9 | 41.1 | 40.1 | 40.5 | 32.0 | 25.7 | 20.7 |
| 1975 | 14.3 | 8.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.0 |
| 1976 | 9.9 | 8.5 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| 1977 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
| 1978 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 8.6 |
| 1979 | 10.0 | 12.4 | 16.6 | 23.5 | 29.0 | 36.5 | 42.0 | 46.0 | 49.4 | 50.5 | 50.7 | 52.1 |
| 1980 | 60.1 | 67.9 | 68.1 | 59.7 | 51.7 | 42.0 | 34.5 | 28.8 | 23.9 | 22.1 | 20.7 | 18.9 |
| 1981 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.4 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 9.4 |
| 1982 | 5.4 | -2.9 | -8.7 | -12.5 | -11.1 | -5.4 | -3.1 | -3.2 | -4.1 | -4.7 | -5.3 | -6.7 |
| 1983 | -8.4 | -10.0 | -9.2 | 0.2 | 2.9 | -1.5 | -2.7 | -2.2 | -1.8 | -2.1 | -2.5 | -1.6 |
| 1984 | -0.4 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 1.8 | -1.1 | -2.9 | -5.0 | -6.1 | -5.0 | -3.2 | -2.4 | -2.5 |
| 1985 | -3.7 | -4.6 | -2.4 | -0.1 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| 1986 | 4.5 | -0.2 | -14.5 | -25.4 | -24.2 | -22.2 | -27.4 | -30.5 | -28.3 | -29.8 | -30.8 | -30.7 |
| 1987 | -26.1 | -18.1 | -6.0 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 11.1 | 20.3 | 17.5 | 19.7 | 21.0 | 18.6 |
| 1988 | 9.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | -0.1 | -1.1 | -1.8 | -2.0 | -1.8 |
| 1989 | -0.1 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 16.3 | 18.9 | 18.3 | 14.9 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 8.8 | 6.9 | 6.5 |
| 1990 | 14.1 | 12.6 | 9.6 | -1.2 | -4.4 | -1.7 | -0.2 | 13.2 | 25.9 | 33.7 | 36.6 | 36.8 |
| 1991 | 19.2 | 10.1 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 6.3 | 4.0 | -3.7 | -10.7 | -17.3 | -16.6 | -16.2 |
| 1992 | -12.7 | -6.6 | -1.1 | -1.1 | -0.8 | 2.4 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.0 |
| 1993 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 0.2 | -3.3 | -4.8 | -4.8 | -5.8 | -2.3 | -4.3 | -5.9 |
| 1994 | -6.5 | -4.9 | -4.5 | -4.0 | -4.0 | -1.7 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| 1995 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 3.3 | -3.0 | -3.8 | -3.6 | -6.4 | -4.2 |
| 1996 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 11.6 | 12.4 |
| 1997 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 4.6 | -2.6 | -7.1 | -5.0 | -4.9 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 1.2 | -2.8 | -6.1 |
| 1998 | -9.9 | -12.9 | -14.7 | -13.6 | -10.5 | -10.5 | -10.0 | -15.2 | -18.0 | -15.2 | -14.3 | -15.4 |
| 1999 | -13.1 | -11.1 | -5.0 | 10.2 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 9.3 | 17.7 | 22.6 | 21.2 | 21.9 | 30.1 |
| 2000 | 32.4 | 41.2 | 52.6 | 27.4 | 26.6 | 40.3 | 32.9 | 19.1 | 22.4 | 20.9 | 21.6 | 13.9 |
| 2001 | 12.4 | 8.1 | -5.8 | 3.8 | 14.4 | 2.2 | -7.8 | -5.1 | -2.7 | -12.6 | -21.5 | -24.9 |
| 2002 | -22.7 | -23.0 | -13.1 | -9.0 | -17.3 | -15.4 | -3.7 | -0.2 | -7.3 | 7.2 | 19.3 | 24.8 |
| 2003 | 29.3 | 43.1 | 37.6 | 15.8 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 14.5 | 21.0 | 9.8 | 5.5 | 6.8 |
| 2004 | 8.3 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 11.0 | 30.0 | 33.4 | 26.5 | 16.5 | 9.6 | 26.6 | 30.9 | 26.1 |
| 2005 | 14.3 | 14.7 | 16.8 | 24.2 | 10.3 | 6.9 | 19.5 | 31.3 | 54.8 | 37.0 | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| 2006 | 27.4 | 20.6 | 17.0 | 21.5 | 33.4 | 34.0 | 29.6 | 19.6 | -11.9 | -18.3 | -4.2 | 6.4 |
| 2007 | -2.7 | -1.4 | 7.2 | 3.2 | 6.0 | 5.0 | -1.1 | -6.4 | 8.7 | 23.4 | 37.1 | 29.6 |
| 2008 | 34.5 | 32.7 | 26.0 | 20.7 | 20.8 | 32.8 | 37.9 | 35.6 | 31.7 | 12.0 | -29.4 | -43.1 |
| 2009 | -40.4 | -35.6 | -39.3 | -39.5 | -39.4 | -34.6 | -37.3 | -30.0 | -29.7 | -17.9 | 23.6 | 53.5 |
| 2010 | 51.3 | 36.8 | 41.4 | 38.3 | 27.0 | 3.9 | 7.4 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 9.5 | 7.3 | 13.8 |
| 2011 | 13.4 | 19.2 | 27.5 | 33.1 | 36.9 | 35.6 | 33.6 | 32.4 | 33.3 | 23.5 | 19.7 | 9.9 |
| 2012 | 9.7 | 12.6 | 9.0 | 3.2 | -4.0 | -4.3 | -5.5 | 1.8 | 6.8 | 9.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| 2013 | -1.5 | 3.3 | -3.1 | -8.3 | -4.1 | 2.8 | 5.2 | -2.4 | -7.5 | -10.1 | -5.8 | -1.0 |
| 2014 | 0.1 | -8.1 | -4.7 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | -2.8 | -3.6 | -5.0 | -10.5 | -21.0 |
| 2015 | -35.4 | -32.8 | -29.2 | -31.7 | -25.0 | -23.3 | -22.3 | -23.3 | -29.6 | -27.8 | -24.1 | -19.7 |
| 2016 | -7.3 | -20.7 | -20.9 | -13.8 | -16.9 | -15.4 | -19.9 | -17.8 | -6.5 | -0.9 | 1.0 | 9.1 |
| 2017 | 20.3 | 30.7 | 19.9 | 14.3 | 5.8 | -0.4 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 19.3 | 10.8 | 16.5 | 10.7 |
| 2018 | 8.5 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 13.4 | 21.8 | 24.3 | 25.4 | 20.3 | 9.1 |
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Gasoline (all types) in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted. CPI-All Urban Consumers.
Table: Historical Gasoline Prices (1978-2018)
Finally, this table shows average gasoline prices in the United States as surveyed and reported by the BLS:
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 0.631 | 0.629 | 0.629 | 0.631 | 0.637 | 0.645 | 0.655 | 0.663 | 0.669 | 0.671 | 0.676 | 0.685 | 0.652 |
| 1979 | 0.695 | 0.707 | 0.733 | 0.780 | 0.823 | 0.880 | 0.930 | 0.967 | 0.998 | 1.006 | 1.019 | 1.042 | 0.882 |
| 1980 | 1.110 | 1.186 | 1.230 | 1.242 | 1.244 | 1.246 | 1.247 | 1.243 | 1.231 | 1.223 | 1.222 | 1.231 | 1.221 |
| 1981 | 1.269 | 1.353 | 1.388 | 1.381 | 1.370 | 1.362 | 1.353 | 1.348 | 1.358 | 1.353 | 1.351 | 1.348 | 1.353 |
| 1982 | 1.341 | 1.318 | 1.268 | 1.210 | 1.224 | 1.296 | 1.318 | 1.310 | 1.292 | 1.280 | 1.268 | 1.244 | 1.281 |
| 1983 | 1.214 | 1.170 | 1.135 | 1.198 | 1.243 | 1.261 | 1.272 | 1.269 | 1.257 | 1.239 | 1.224 | 1.215 | 1.225 |
| 1984 | 1.200 | 1.193 | 1.194 | 1.211 | 1.221 | 1.214 | 1.197 | 1.184 | 1.189 | 1.195 | 1.193 | 1.179 | 1.198 |
| 1985 | 1.145 | 1.128 | 1.155 | 1.199 | 1.223 | 1.233 | 1.233 | 1.222 | 1.209 | 1.198 | 1.201 | 1.203 | 1.196 |
| 1986 | 1.190 | 1.119 | 0.983 | 0.895 | 0.927 | 0.958 | 0.895 | 0.848 | 0.864 | 0.837 | 0.827 | 0.830 | 0.931 |
| 1987 | 0.868 | 0.911 | 0.918 | 0.940 | 0.948 | 0.966 | 0.980 | 1.004 | 1.000 | 0.988 | 0.987 | 0.975 | 0.957 |
| 1988 | 0.947 | 0.928 | 0.920 | 0.946 | 0.970 | 0.971 | 0.984 | 1.004 | 0.992 | 0.976 | 0.972 | 0.953 | 0.964 |
| 1989 | 0.944 | 0.955 | 0.974 | 1.098 | 1.152 | 1.150 | 1.132 | 1.096 | 1.073 | 1.071 | 1.046 | 1.030 | 1.060 |
| 1990 | 1.090 | 1.086 | 1.076 | 1.096 | 1.114 | 1.140 | 1.139 | 1.246 | 1.347 | 1.431 | 1.432 | 1.410 | 1.217 |
| 1991 | 1.304 | 1.198 | 1.138 | 1.159 | 1.209 | 1.214 | 1.185 | 1.196 | 1.199 | 1.180 | 1.193 | 1.182 | 1.196 |
| 1992 | 1.135 | 1.117 | 1.122 | 1.143 | 1.197 | 1.239 | 1.237 | 1.221 | 1.222 | 1.219 | 1.223 | 1.201 | 1.190 |
| 1993 | 1.182 | 1.172 | 1.163 | 1.175 | 1.193 | 1.194 | 1.174 | 1.163 | 1.151 | 1.193 | 1.178 | 1.136 | 1.173 |
| 1994 | 1.109 | 1.114 | 1.109 | 1.128 | 1.143 | 1.169 | 1.199 | 1.243 | 1.237 | 1.212 | 1.222 | 1.203 | 1.174 |
| 1995 | 1.190 | 1.181 | 1.173 | 1.197 | 1.256 | 1.281 | 1.252 | 1.222 | 1.206 | 1.185 | 1.161 | 1.160 | 1.205 |
| 1996 | 1.186 | 1.181 | 1.219 | 1.305 | 1.378 | 1.354 | 1.328 | 1.298 | 1.293 | 1.287 | 1.308 | 1.318 | 1.288 |
| 1997 | 1.318 | 1.312 | 1.293 | 1.288 | 1.284 | 1.286 | 1.263 | 1.310 | 1.334 | 1.300 | 1.271 | 1.236 | 1.291 |
| 1998 | 1.186 | 1.137 | 1.097 | 1.106 | 1.146 | 1.148 | 1.134 | 1.108 | 1.091 | 1.099 | 1.086 | 1.046 | 1.115 |
| 1999 | 1.031 | 1.014 | 1.048 | 1.232 | 1.233 | 1.204 | 1.244 | 1.309 | 1.334 | 1.329 | 1.319 | 1.353 | 1.221 |
| 2000 | 1.356 | 1.422 | 1.594 | 1.561 | 1.552 | 1.666 | 1.642 | 1.559 | 1.635 | 1.613 | 1.608 | 1.544 | 1.563 |
| 2001 | 1.525 | 1.538 | 1.503 | 1.617 | 1.812 | 1.731 | 1.565 | 1.509 | 1.609 | 1.442 | 1.324 | 1.200 | 1.531 |
| 2002 | 1.209 | 1.210 | 1.324 | 1.493 | 1.508 | 1.489 | 1.496 | 1.508 | 1.507 | 1.535 | 1.534 | 1.477 | 1.441 |
| 2003 | 1.557 | 1.686 | 1.791 | 1.704 | 1.587 | 1.558 | 1.567 | 1.671 | 1.771 | 1.646 | 1.578 | 1.538 | 1.638 |
| 2004 | 1.635 | 1.715 | 1.809 | 1.875 | 2.050 | 2.083 | 1.982 | 1.941 | 1.934 | 2.072 | 2.053 | 1.926 | 1.923 |
| 2005 | 1.866 | 1.960 | 2.107 | 2.325 | 2.257 | 2.218 | 2.357 | 2.548 | 2.969 | 2.830 | 2.387 | 2.230 | 2.338 |
| 2006 | 2.359 | 2.354 | 2.444 | 2.801 | 2.993 | 2.963 | 3.046 | 3.033 | 2.637 | 2.319 | 2.287 | 2.380 | 2.635 |
| 2007 | 2.321 | 2.333 | 2.639 | 2.909 | 3.176 | 3.100 | 3.013 | 2.833 | 2.839 | 2.843 | 3.118 | 3.069 | 2.849 |
| 2008 | 3.096 | 3.083 | 3.307 | 3.491 | 3.813 | 4.115 | 4.142 | 3.838 | 3.749 | 3.225 | 2.208 | 1.742 | 3.317 |
| 2009 | 1.838 | 1.979 | 2.000 | 2.107 | 2.314 | 2.681 | 2.594 | 2.677 | 2.626 | 2.613 | 2.709 | 2.671 | 2.401 |
| 2010 | 2.779 | 2.709 | 2.829 | 2.906 | 2.915 | 2.783 | 2.783 | 2.795 | 2.754 | 2.843 | 2.899 | 3.031 | 2.836 |
| 2011 | 3.139 | 3.215 | 3.594 | 3.863 | 3.982 | 3.753 | 3.703 | 3.680 | 3.664 | 3.521 | 3.475 | 3.329 | 3.577 |
| 2012 | 3.447 | 3.622 | 3.918 | 3.976 | 3.839 | 3.602 | 3.502 | 3.759 | 3.908 | 3.839 | 3.542 | 3.386 | 3.695 |
| 2013 | 3.407 | 3.748 | 3.792 | 3.647 | 3.682 | 3.693 | 3.687 | 3.658 | 3.616 | 3.434 | 3.310 | 3.333 | 3.584 |
| 2014 | 3.378 | 3.422 | 3.590 | 3.717 | 3.745 | 3.750 | 3.690 | 3.540 | 3.463 | 3.241 | 2.945 | 2.618 | 3.425 |
| 2015 | 2.170 | 2.308 | 2.544 | 2.545 | 2.832 | 2.889 | 2.893 | 2.745 | 2.463 | 2.357 | 2.249 | 2.125 | 2.510 |
| 2016 | 2.034 | 1.833 | 2.021 | 2.196 | 2.324 | 2.422 | 2.287 | 2.218 | 2.269 | 2.304 | 2.246 | 2.289 | 2.204 |
| 2017 | 2.409 | 2.360 | 2.386 | 2.479 | 2.448 | 2.400 | 2.344 | 2.436 | 2.688 | 2.545 | 2.608 | 2.521 | 2.469 |
| 2018 | 2.596 | 2.632 | 2.631 | 2.795 | 2.963 | 2.970 | 2.930 | 2.919 | 2.930 |
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Gasoline, all types, per gallon/3.785 liters in U.S. city average, average price, not seasonally adjusted.