As of July 18, the price of Regular and Premium were down 16 cents each from the previous week. According to GasBuddy.com, California has the highest average price for Regular at $5.86 and South Carolina has the cheapest at $3.96. The WTIC end-of-day spot price closed at 99.42 and is down 4.5% from last week.

The next chart is a monthly chart overlay of West Texas Light Crude, Brent Crude, and unleaded gasoline end-of-day spot prices (GASO for 6/30).

In this monthly chart, the WTIC end-of-day spot price closed at 99.42, down 4.5% from last week.

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).

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