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Gas Price
About This Indicator
What Is the Gas Price?
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded across U.S. cities, not adjusted for inflation. Crude oil is the largest part, often around half; refining, distribution, and taxes make up the rest.
Why Does It Matter?
Gas is the price Americans see most often, posted on street corners and paid in full at every fill-up, yet it takes only a few cents of the typical dollar spent.
Can Politics Influence It?
Less than the blame suggests. Crude trades on a world market that no American policy sets; OPEC, wars, and global demand move it far more. Fuel taxes, sanctions, and Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases move the pump price at the margin.
Key Idea
A term's change here tracks world oil more than Washington: in the five months after July 2008 the price fell by more than half as the financial crisis crushed demand.
Not Scored
Source: BLS. APU000074714.
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