Efforts by the Federal Reserve Bank to tame inflation appear to be working. After climbing to a 41-year high of 9.1% in June of 2022, the rate on the closely watched consumer price index dropped to 3.7% in August. A major component of the CPI is the price of gasoline, and while consumers are not seeing the all-time highest prices at the gas pump, the cost of gasoline continues to be volatile. (These are the states where inflation is stressing people out the most.)
To identify the inflation rate and the price of gas every summer over the last 30 years, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed consumer price index releases from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for each August between 1993 and 2023. The average nationwide price for all grades of retail gasoline came from the Energy Information Administration.
Motorists will probably have to dig deeper in their wallets to keep their vehicles on the road as we head into the final months of 2023. Fears of inflation are fading, and developing nations are seeking more oil. The extension of Saudi and Russian oil cuts has boosted the price of the benchmark Brent crude to more than $90 a barrel.
Even though the worst of inflation appears to be behind us, higher gasoline prices are not. Gas prices accounted for more than half of August’s 0.6% increase in the price of goods and services from July, according to Labor Department data released this week. And according to AAA, the price of diesel fuel at the pump soared 48 cents a gallon since July, while gasoline rose 9 cents.
The average gasoline price this past August was the second-highest ever for that month. The highest gasoline price ever in August was in 2022, when it was $$4.09 a gallon, the first time the average price had climbed above $4. The most expensive gasoline prices in August have occurred over the last three years. (Also see, states with the lowest and highest gas taxes.)
Today’s gasoline price is a far cry from the average in August 1998, when it was $1.07 a gallon.
August, 2023
> Consumer price index: 307.0
> Year-over-year change: 3.7% – #6 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.95 – #2 highest in 30 years
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Source: romrodinka / Getty Images
August, 2022
> Consumer price index: 296.2
> Year-over-year change: 8.3% – #1 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $4.09 – #1 highest in 30 years
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Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images
August, 2021
> Consumer price index: 273.6
> Year-over-year change: 5.3% – #3 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.26 – #8 highest in 30 years
Source: flyparade / Getty Images
August, 2020
> Consumer price index: 259.9
> Year-over-year change: 1.3% – #26 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.27 – #19 highest in 30 years
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Source: Anthony Kwan / Getty Images
August, 2019
> Consumer price index: 256.6
> Year-over-year change: 1.7% – #21 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.71 – #14 highest in 30 years
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
August, 2018
> Consumer price index: 252.1
> Year-over-year change: 2.7% – #12 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.91 – #10 highest in 30 years
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Source: NASA / Getty Images
August, 2017
> Consumer price index: 245.5
> Year-over-year change: 1.9% – #19 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.49 – #17 highest in 30 years
Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images
August, 2016
> Consumer price index: 240.8
> Year-over-year change: 1.1% – #28 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.28 – #18 highest in 30 years
Source: NASA / Getty Images
August, 2015
> Consumer price index: 238.3
> Year-over-year change: 0.2% – #29 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.73 – #13 highest in 30 years
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Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
August, 2014
> Consumer price index: 237.9
> Year-over-year change: 1.7% – #22 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.57 – #7 highest in 30 years
Source: Michael Buckner / Getty Images
August, 2013
> Consumer price index: 233.9
> Year-over-year change: 1.5% – #25 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.65 – #6 highest in 30 years
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Source: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
August, 2012
> Consumer price index: 230.4
> Year-over-year change: 1.7% – #23 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.78 – #4 highest in 30 years
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Source: Majid Saeedi / Getty Images
August, 2011
> Consumer price index: 226.5
> Year-over-year change: 3.8% – #5 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.70 – #5 highest in 30 years
Source: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
August, 2010
> Consumer price index: 218.3
> Year-over-year change: 1.1% – #27 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.78 – #12 highest in 30 years
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Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images
August, 2009
> Consumer price index: 215.8
> Year-over-year change: -1.5% – #30 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.67 – #15 highest in 30 years
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
August, 2008
> Consumer price index: 219.1
> Year-over-year change: 5.4% – #2 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.83 – #3 highest in 30 years
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Source: David Paul Morris / Getty Images
August, 2007
> Consumer price index: 207.9
> Year-over-year change: 2.0% – #18 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.83 – #11 highest in 30 years
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Source: Wathiq Khuzaie / Getty Images
August, 2006
> Consumer price index: 203.9
> Year-over-year change: 3.8% – #4 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $3.00 – #9 highest in 30 years
August, 2005
> Consumer price index: 196.4
> Year-over-year change: 3.6% – #7 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $2.53 – #16 highest in 30 years
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Source: Chris Jackson / Getty Images
August, 2004
> Consumer price index: 189.5
> Year-over-year change: 2.7% – #13 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.92 – #20 highest in 30 years
Source: Scott Barbour / Getty Images
August, 2003
> Consumer price index: 184.6
> Year-over-year change: 2.2% – #17 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.66 – #21 highest in 30 years
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Source: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
August, 2002
> Consumer price index: 180.7
> Year-over-year change: 1.8% – #20 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.44 – #24 highest in 30 years
Source: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
August, 2001
> Consumer price index: 177.5
> Year-over-year change: 2.7% – #11 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.46 – #23 highest in 30 years
Source: NASA / Getty Images
August, 2000
> Consumer price index: 172.8
> Year-over-year change: 3.4% – #8 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.51 – #22 highest in 30 years
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Source: USAF / Getty Images
August, 1999
> Consumer price index: 167.1
> Year-over-year change: 2.3% – #15 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.26 – #26 highest in 30 years
Source: Space Frontiers / Getty Images
August, 1998
> Consumer price index: 163.4
> Year-over-year change: 1.6% – #24 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.07 – #30 highest in 30 years
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Source: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
August, 1997
> Consumer price index: 160.8
> Year-over-year change: 2.2% – #16 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.27 – #25 highest in 30 years
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Source: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
August, 1996
> Consumer price index: 157.3
> Year-over-year change: 2.9% – #10 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.25 – #27 highest in 30 years
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
August, 1995
> Consumer price index: 152.9
> Year-over-year change: 2.6% – #14 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.17 – #28 highest in 30 years
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Source: Phil Cole / Getty Images
August, 1994
> Consumer price index: 149.0
> Year-over-year change: 2.9% – #9 highest on list
> Avg. gas price per gallon: $1.16 – #29 highest in 30 years
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