Weekly Gasoline Prices: WTIC Highest Since 2014
As of October 18, the price of Regular and Premium were up six and five cents each, respectively, from the previous week. According to GasBuddy.com, California has the highest average price for Regular at $4.49 and Texas has the cheapest at $2.95. The WTIC end-of-day spot price closed at 81.69, up 1.5% from last week and up 72% from the beginning of the year. Both gas prices and WTIC are at their highest levels since 2014.
How far are we from the interim high prices of 2011 and the all-time highs of 2008? Here's a visual answer.
The next chart is a monthly chart overlay of West Texas Light Crude, Brent Crude, and unleaded gasoline end-of-day spot prices (GASO).
In this monthly chart, the WTIC end-of-day spot price closed at 81.69, up 1.5% from last week and up 72% from the beginning of the year, its highest since late 2014.
The volatility in crude oil and gasoline prices has been clearly reflected in recent years in both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE). For additional perspective on how energy prices are factored into the CPI, see What Inflation Means to You: Inside the Consumer Price Index.
The chart below offers a comparison of the broader aggregate category of energy inflation since 2000, based on categories within the Consumer Price Index (commentary here).