Gas Still Not Cheap by Historical Standards

The recent plunge in gas prices has been welcome relief for many, but today’s price at the pump still isn’t what it used to be in nominal and inflation-adjusted real terms, reports the Wall Street Journal.

From 1986 to 2003, the annual average price of gas, adjusted for inflation, was $2.06 a gallon and bottomed out at $1.51 in 1998. On Thursday, the national average price was $2.23 a gallon.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that in 2015, the average price per gallon will be $2.57.

“Not bad–but not 1998,” says the Journal. “Prices would have to fall another buck before cheap gas, historically speaking, go really cheap again.”