History of Gas Prices

History of Gas Prices

Gas prices are headed north again, which is aggravating to say the least. That being said, the history of gas prices is one that actually reflects very slow movement till the last few years.

The cost of gasoline is, of course, a reflection of the cost of oil. That being said, it is important to remember that taxes are added to every gallon of petrol in the United States. This gives rise to much aggravation among people in places like Southern California who cannot understand why they are paying more than people in a state like Texas.

The following history of gas prices starts in 1919. Gas was a mere 25 cents a gallon. Oddly, that is still more than the price of 13 cents a gallon in Venezuela today! Still, you wouldn’t find many people complaining if the price dropped under $1 again. With that hopeful thought in mind, here is an annual accounting of the history of gas prices in the United States.

1919     0.25
1920     0.30
1921     0.26
1922     0.25
1923     0.22
1924     0.21
1925     0.22
1926     0.23
1927     0.21
1928     0.21
1929     0.21
1930     0.20
1931     0.17
1932     0.18
1933     0.18
1934     0.19
1935     0.19
1936     0.19
1937     0.20
1938     0.20
1939     0.19
1940     0.18
1941     0.19
1942     0.20
1943     0.21
1944     0.21
1945     0.21
1946     0.21
1947     0.23
1948     0.26
1949     0.27
1950     0.27
1951     0.27
1952     0.28
1953     0.29
1954     0.29
1955     0.29
1956     0.30
1957     0.31
1958     0.30
1959     0.31
1960     0.31
1961     0.31
1962     0.31
1963     0.30
1964     0.30
1965     0.31
1966     0.32
1967     0.33
1968     0.34
1969     0.35
1970     0.36
1971     0.36
1972     0.36
1973     0.39
1974     0.52
1975     0.57
1976     0.59
1977     0.62
1978     0.63
1979     0.86
1980     1.25
1981     1.38
1982     1.26
1983     1.20
1984     1.18
1985     1.17
1986     0.89
1987     0.91
1988     0.91
1989     0.98
1990     1.13
1991     1.10
1992     1.09
1993     1.07
1994     1.07
1995     1.11
1996     1.20
1997     1.20
1998     1.03
1999     1.14
2000     1.49
2001     1.43
2002     1.34
2003     1.56
2004     1.85
2005   1.90
2006     3.00
2007     2.75
2008     3.55

It is a long and interesting list to say the least. One thing is very notable. Prices rose slow and steadily for decade upon decade until 2006. This is about the period that demand for oil caught up to the daily supply in the world. The basic rule of supply and demand indicates that a price increase should have happened. That is exactly what occurred.

The history of gas prices shows us that we’ve been lucky to go through nearly 90 years of stable prices. Given the energy demands of this modern era, I believe those days may soon be over as prices spiral out of control over the next 10 to 20 years.

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