Price of Oil per Barrel since 1940

Crude Oil prices have been in the news lately and have most recently hit a symbolic high of $114 a barrel. These prices are still lower if you account for inflation compared to during the Iraq/Iran war of 1980. Also the United States still enjoys a import price over the rest of the world of around $5-$7. Still though we are on track to overtake the old record of 1980 by the end of 2Q at the latest if everything stays the same.

Here is a graph posted by the New York Times that breaks down the price of oil adjusted for inflation since 1940.

Also the New York Times gives a audio primer on the actions of American oil consumption and price for the last 70 years.