What a gallon of gas cost the year you were born

The price of gas can be uniquely volatile

In the early 1930s, an American motorist could pull up to the pump in a Ford Model T Speedster running on fumes, and for little more than a dollar drive away with a full tank. Today, the same amount of gasoline costs about $25.

Inflation is the primary reason for the increase in gas prices over time. However, while inflation affects the cost of all goods and services, the price of gasoline is subject to a number of additional market forces -- and it can be uniquely volatile.

The average cost of a gallon of gas in the United States is the product of a number of interrelated global market forces. Foreign and domestic oil production, consumption, projected demand, financial markets, refining capacity, supply chain disruptions, transportation costs, futures speculation, and the value of the U.S. dollar all affect the price of gasoline.

Seemingly unrelated geopolitical and economic events can also influence the price of crude oil, which largely determines the price of a gallon of gas. For example, the cost of a barrel of oil more than doubled in the early 1970s, when oil-exporting Arab states imposed an embargo to retaliate against the United States for lending military aid to Israel. Similarly, the price of crude oil hit an all time high of over $160 per barrel during the 2008 global financial crisis. Today, crude oil prices are around $68 a barrel.

More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/what-a-gallon-of-gas-cost-the-year-you-were-born/ss-BBL3COw?ocid=spartanntp




1929
Price per gallon (inflation adj.): $0.21 ($2.41)
Price per barrel (inflation adj.): $1.27 ($14.30)
U.S. oil production: 2.8 million barrels per day




1957
Price per gallon (inflation adj.): $0.31 ($2.08)
Price per barrel (inflation adj.): $3.09 ($20.71)
U.S. gas consumption: 1.3 billion barrels
Per capita consumption: 322.2 gallons
U.S. oil production: 7.2 million barrels per day