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Real Petroleum Prices
 

Real Petroleum Prices are computed by dividing the nominal price in a given month by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in that month to the CPI in some "base" period. The Real Petroleum Prices spreadsheet and charts are updated every month so that the current month is the base period in the monthly price series. Consequently, all real prices are expressed in "current" dollars and any current month price may be compared directly with any past or projected real prices.

Excel Spreadsheet (XLS file)
 
 

Data Sources
 

History
   

Gasoline Regular Grade Retail Price (including taxes)
     

1919 - 1979: Bureau of Labor Statistics leaded regular
     

1980 - 1981: Bureau of Labor Statistics unleaded regular
     

1982 -1994: Energy Information Administration (EIA) data extrapolated using BLS survey data.
     

1995 - Present: EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report, weekly EIA-878 "Motor Gasoline Price Survey"
   

Heating Oil (excluding taxes)

     

EIA Petroleum Marketing Monthly
     

1980 - 1982: EIA survey EIA-9A, "No. 2 Distillate Price Monitoring Report,"
     

1983 - Present: EIA surveys EIA-782A, "Refiners'/Gas Plant Operators' Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report," and EIA-782B "Resellers'/Retailers' Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report".
   

Diesel Fuel (including taxes)
     

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report, EIA survey EIA-888 "On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price Survey"
   

Crude Oil (refiner average imported crude oil acquisition cost)
     

EIA Petroleum Marketing Monthly
     

1980 - Sep. 1982: EIA survey ERA-51 "Transfer Pricing Report"
     

Oct. 1982 - June 1984: EIA survey EP-51 "Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Transaction Report"
     

July 1984 - Present: EIA survey EIA-856, "Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report"
   

Consumer Price Index (all urban consumers):
     

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
 

Forecasts
   

Prices:
     

EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook model
   

Consumer Price Index
     

Global Insight macroeconomic model

Real Price Calculation Procedure
 

Real Price in Month A = Nominal Price in Month A (Consumer Price Index in Base Month / Consumer Price Index in Month A).
 

The "base" month is the current month of this publication.

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