Gas Prices Under George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
Under George H. W. Bush, the U.S. average price of gasoline (all grades) went from $1.00 to $1.12 a gallon, averaged $1.10 and peaked at $1.14 (1990).
1989
1992 · last full year in office
Start to end
Mean over 4 years
Pump: 1990 · adj.: 1990
Pump: 1989 · adj.: 1992
Gas prices during G.H.W. Bush’s term
One point per year before 2000.
| Year | At the pump | In 2025 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | $1.00 | $2.61 |
| 1990 | $1.14 | $2.81 |
| 1991 | $1.12 | $2.64 |
| 1992 | $1.12 | $2.57 |
George H. W. Bush, 1989–1993: the Gulf War and new fuel rules
The main price event of George H. W. Bush’s term came in 1990. Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, and nearly all of both countries’ oil production went offline, a peak loss of about 4.3 million barrels a day. In both EIA annual retail series, 1990 was the most expensive year of the term, about 14 percent above 1989. In 1991 and 1992 the U.S. average was slightly below the 1990 level but still above 1989. Before 2000 the site holds one annual average per year, so the weekly spike in the fall of 1990 is not shown and no dollar figures are quoted.
Several federal actions touched gasoline. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, signed November 5, 1990, raised the federal gasoline tax by 5¢ a gallon, half of it for deficit reduction. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 required reformulated gasoline from 1995 in the nine cities with the worst ozone problems, and oxygenated fuel in winter in 41 areas that exceeded the federal carbon monoxide standard. After a 3.9 million-barrel test sale in the fall of 1990, the Department of Energy announced on January 16, 1991, at the start of Operation Desert Storm, an emergency sale of 17.3 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Kuwait’s output recovered over the following years. Presidents have limited control over pump prices, which follow crude oil, refining and tax conditions; the site’s explainer sets out what a president can and cannot change.
Sources: movements before 2000 compare the EIA State Energy Data System annual average in our database with the EIA Monthly Energy Review retail series, and figures from 2000 on are EIA weekly retail data from our database; other facts are from the sources listed here.
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: Effects of crude oil supply disruptions (Iran 1978–79, Iraq–Kuwait 1990)
- Federal Highway Administration, “When did the Federal Government begin collecting the gas tax?”
- U.S. EPA, 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment Summary: Title II (mobile sources and fuels)
- U.S. Department of Energy, History of SPR Releases
Current and Constant Dollars Across the Term
The term ran from January 20, 1989, to January 20, 1993, and has 4 calendar years of data: 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. The U.S. annual average for all grades was $1.00 in 1989, the lowest annual average of the term at the pump, and $1.12 in 1992. From the start to the end of the term, the pump price rose 11.8¢ (11.7%).
In constant 2025 dollars, the 1989 price corresponds to $2.61 and the 1992 price to $2.57. On that basis the change from start to end was a fall of 3.4¢ (1.3%). The highest constant-dollar figure of the term was $2.81 in 1990.
The term average was $1.10 at the pump and $2.66 in 2025 dollars. The annual averages by year were $1.00 in 1989, $1.14 in 1990, $1.12 in 1991 and $1.12 in 1992. Before 2000 the figures are EIA annual national averages for all grades, one point per calendar year, and the 1993 inauguration year is not part of this term.
Gas prices under G.H.W. Bush, answered
- What was the highest gas price under George H. W. Bush?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during George H. W. Bush's term was $2.81 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (1990). The highest at-the-pump price was $1.14 (1990). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when George H. W. Bush took office?
- At the start of the term (1989) the U.S. average for gasoline (all grades) was $1.00 per gallon, or $2.61 in constant 2025 dollars.
- How much did gas prices change under George H. W. Bush?
- From the start of the term to its end (1992), the pump price went from $1.00 to $1.12 a gallon — a change of +$0.12 (+11.7%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $2.61 to $2.57, −1.3%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under George H. W. Bush?
- In inflation-adjusted terms the average price fell over the term (at the pump it rose). This reflects what prices were during the term and is not a measure of any president's policies — gasoline prices are driven mainly by global oil markets, which moved for reasons largely outside any president's control.
Source: EIA, annual U.S. average, all grades (calendar-year boundaries before 2000). Constant 2025 dollars (CPI-U). Party is listed as a matter of record; the page attributes no price change to any president or policy (see whether the President controls gas prices). How these figures are built.
Years in this term
Use this data
Download: U.S. national gas prices by year, 1970–present (CSV) · Weekly U.S. national gas prices, 2000–present (CSV).
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Cite as: US Gas Gauge, “Gas Prices Under George H. W. Bush,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/by-president/george-h-w-bush. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.