The table below shows the Annual Average Crude Oil Price from 1946 to the present. Prices are adjusted for Inflation to December 2007 prices using the CPI-U.
Note: Since they 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 all-time low in 1998 (lower than the price in 1946)! And now just ten years later we are nearing the all time high.
Prices are based on historical free market (stripper) prices of Illinois Crude as presented by IOGA . Price controlled prices would be lower during the 1970's but resulted in gas lines and shortages.
Annual Average Domestic Crude Oil Prices, 1949-1984
U.S. Average (in $/bbl.)
Year ..................Nominal.............................. Inflation Adjusted 2007
1946...................$1.63 .......................................... $17.26
1947.................. $2.16 .......................................... $20.29
1948.................. $2.77 .......................................... $24.21
1949.................. $2.77 .......................................... $24.44
1950 ................. $2.77 .......................................... $24.18
1951 ................. $2.77 .......................................... $22.42
1952 ..................$2.77 .......................................... $21.91
1953 ..................$2.92 .......................................... $22.88
1954 ..................$2.99 .......................................... $23.39
1955 ..................$2.93 .......................................... $22.94
1956 ..................$2.94 .......................................... $22.74
1957 ..................$3.14 .......................................... $23.46
1958 ..................$3.00 .......................................... $21.83
1959 ..................$3.00 .......................................... $21.62
1960 ..................$2.91 .......................................... $20.69
1961 ..................$2.85 .......................................... $20.03
1962 ..................$2.85 .......................................... $19.79
1963 ..................$2.91 .......................................... $19.97
1964 ..................$3.00 .......................................... $20.32
1965 ..................$3.01 .......................................... $20.05
1966 ..................$3.10 .......................................... $20.06
1967 ..................$3.12 .......................................... $19.65
1968 ..................$3.18 .......................................... $19.17
1969 ..................$3.32 .......................................... $19.02
1970 ..................$3.39 .......................................... $18.35
1971 ..................$3.60 .......................................... $18.68
1972 ..................$3.60 .......................................... $20.03
1973 ..................$4.75 .......................................... $22.29
1974 ..................$9.35 .......................................... $39.77
1975 .................$12.21 .......................................... $47.63
1976 .................$13.10 .......................................... $48.36
1977 .................$14.40 .......................................... $49.88
1978 .................$14.95 .......................................... $48.17
1979 .................$25.10 .......................................... $71.96
1980 .................$37.42 .......................................... $95.50
1981 .................$35.75 .......................................... $82.70
1982 .................$31.83 .......................................... $69.33
1983 .................$29.08 .......................................... $61.34
1984 .................$28.75 .......................................... $58.14
1985 ................ $26.92 .......................................... $52.56
1986 .................$14.44 .......................................... $27.66
1987 .................$17.75 .......................................... $32.81
1988 .................$14.87 .......................................... $26.45
1989 .................$18.33 .......................................... $31.05
1990 .................$23.19 .......................................... $37.17
1991 .................$20.20 .......................................... $31.15
1992 .................$19.25 .......................................... $28.81
1993 .................$16.75 .......................................... $24.36
1994 .................$15.66 .......................................... $22.19
1995 .................$16.75 .......................................... $23.09
1996 .................$20.46 .......................................... $27.38
1997 .................$18.64 .......................................... $24.40
1998 .................$11.91 .......................................... $15.35
1999 .................$16.56 .......................................... $20.83
2000 .................$27.39 .......................................... $33.39
2001 .................$23.00 .......................................... $27.29
2002 .................$22.81 .......................................... $26.61
2003 .................$27.69 .......................................... $31.62
2004 .................$37.66 .......................................... $41.84
2005 .................$50.04 .......................................... $53.77
2006 ................ $58.30 .......................................... $60.73
2007 .................$64.20 .......................................... $64.92
Many commodity bulls cite rising demand as the fulcrum for nothing but higher prices. Note how many times in the past 61 years that both absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for oil declined over multi-year periods.
Do you think worldwide demand decreased from 1946 to 1998? It was in 1998 that oil hit its all-time low price on an inflation-adjusted basis.
Disclosure: No Position in Oil
