Inflation- and Energy-Adjusted Historical Prices Reflect Disruptive Events to Global Energy Systems

The historical prices of oil, coal, and natural gas in the United States after adjusting for energy content and inflation are computed and provided in a comparative context from 1984 to the present (August 2022). The price history reflects impacts by disruptive local or global events. Although current oil and gas prices are high, when adjusted for inflation, they are still not as high as prices experienced during the early 1980s and late 2000s. However, high global inflation rates compound other factors that are increasing energy prices now, leading to record high prices in absolute terms, and sticker shock to consumers worldwide. The recent impacts of the pandemic, Texas Freeze, and Russian invasion of mainland Ukraine are evident. Although oil and gas generally trend up or down together, they remain decoupled on an energy basis as they have been since 2006.