Gas Prices Under Barack Obama (2009–2017)
The U.S. average price of regular gasoline across Barack Obama’s time in office, shown at the pump and in inflation-adjusted 2025 dollars. These figures describe what prices were during the term — they do not measure the effect of any president’s policies.
January 19, 2009
January 23, 2017
Start to end
Mean over 417 weeks
Pump: May 9, 2011 · adj.: May 9, 2011
Pump: February 15, 2016 · adj.: February 15, 2016
Gas prices during Obama’s term
The national average for regular gasoline from 2009 to 2017. Toggle between the price at the pump and constant 2025 dollars.
What was happening in oil markets
The 2011 Arab Spring and Libyan supply disruption lifted crude, while the U.S. shale boom and an OPEC output contest drove a sharp global price collapse in 2014–2016.
What actually moves gas prices
It is tempting to credit or blame whoever is in the White House for the price at the pump, but economists across the spectrum agree that a president’s direct influence is limited. The price of gasoline is set mostly by forces that operate on a global scale and on their own timelines:
- The global price of crude oil, which typically accounts for the majority of what you pay and is set in worldwide markets.
- OPEC+ production decisions and the output of other major producers, which raise or cut global supply.
- Refining capacity and outages, which determine how much crude becomes gasoline, and where.
- Demand and seasonality, including the summer driving season and the switch to costlier summer blends.
- Geopolitics and taxes, from wars and sanctions to state and federal fuel taxes.
Prices rose and fell under presidents of both parties for reasons that usually had little to do with who held office. These pages report what prices were during each term; they do not assign credit or blame.
What a president can and cannot do about the price at the pump.
Gas prices under Obama, answered
- What was the highest gas price under Barack Obama?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during Barack Obama's term was $5.68 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (May 9, 2011). The highest at-the-pump price was $3.96 (May 9, 2011). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when Barack Obama took office?
- At the start of the term (January 19, 2009) the U.S. average for regular gasoline was $1.85 per gallon, or $2.81 in constant 2025 dollars.
- How much did gas prices change under Barack Obama?
- From the start of the term to its end (January 23, 2017), the pump price went from $1.85 to $2.33 a gallon — a change of +$0.48 (+25.9%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $2.81 to $3.07, +9.6%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under Barack Obama?
- In inflation-adjusted terms the average price rose 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: U.S. Energy Information Administration, national average retail price of regular gasoline. Figures use EIA's weekly national series; term-boundary prices are the nearest weekly reading to Inauguration Day. Inflation adjustment uses the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), constant 2025 dollars. Party is listed as a matter of record; this page does not attribute price changes to any president or policy.