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Updated November 4, 2026 · maintained, not published once
Updated automatically: what fuel costs now compared with a week and a year ago, from the Energy Information Administration's data.
Gasoline is the weekly U.S. average for regular; crude is the daily WTI spot price. Prices at your local station vary.
| Measure | As of | Latest | A week earlier | A year earlier | Change in a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular gasoline, U.S. average ($ a gallon) | Nov 2, 2026 | $4.15 | $4.27 | $3.04 | +36.8% |
| Crude oil, West Texas Intermediate ($ a barrel) | Oct 27, 2026 | $103.37 | $107.89 | $62.13 | +66.4% |
Third-quarter growth sped up, while the Fed's favorite inflation gauge rose to 3.6 percent and income after taxes and inflation fell in September.
The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent annual rate in the third quarter, up from 2.2 percent in the spring, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said October 29 in its first estimate. Investment, consumer spending and government spending all rose, partly offset by lower exports.
She leaves on February 7, about nine months before her term ends, as the bank held rates steady. European leaders begin choosing her successor now.
Christine Lagarde will step down as president of the European Central Bank on February 7, 2027, nearly nine months before her eight-year term was due to end on October 31, 2027, the bank said on Thursday, October 29. Lagarde informed the bank's Governing Council and European Council President António Costa, who said the process to choose her successor would begin immediately. The ECB gave no reason for her departure. 'It has been a great pride and a huge privilege to serve this institution,' Lagarde wrote on X.
The yield on France's 10-year government bond rose above 5 percent on Wednesday, October 21, for the first time since 2002, Euronews reported, a sign of investors' concern about French government finances and higher interest rates in Europe. Higher government borrowing costs can feed through to mortgages and business loans.
Gasoline led the monthly jump. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis and 3.7 percent over the past 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported October 14. Gasoline prices rose.
Retail and food services sales rose 0.8 percent in September from August, the Census Bureau's advance estimate released October 15 shows, after a revised 1.3 percent gain in August. The figures are not adjusted for price changes, so with consumer prices up 0.6 percent in September, much of the increase reflects higher prices rather than more buying. Advance estimates are revised in later months.
Gasoline was up 9.1 percent in the month and 34.2 percent from a year earlier, accounting for more than half of September's increase.
Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in September, seasonally adjusted, after a 0.4 percent rise in August, and were 3.7 percent higher than a year earlier, up from 3.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, October 14. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 3.6 percent.
Employment changed little across major industries. August's gain was revised down to 133,000, and wage growth slowed again.
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 29,000 in September and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 percent, both little changed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, October 2. Employment in all major industries changed little over the month. August's job gain was revised down to 133,000 from the 162,000 first reported.
Prices excluding food and energy were up 2.4 percent from a year earlier.
Consumer prices were 3.4 percent higher in August than a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, September 11, the same annual rate as in July. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.3 percent in the month and 2.4 percent over the year. Forecasters had expected the annual rate to ease to about 3.3 percent, according to FactSet.
The quarter-point increase lifts the ECB's deposit rate to 2.50 percent, its second hike this year after June.
The European Central Bank raised all three of its key interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, September 10, lifting its deposit rate to 2.50 percent and its main refinancing rate to 2.65 percent, according to the bank's announced rates as compiled by market data services. It was the ECB's second increase of 2026; in June it raised rates for the first time since September 2023, as the energy shock from the war in the Middle East pushed up prices across the euro area.
The unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. Economists had expected about 53,000 to 65,000 jobs after a weak July.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000 in August and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, September 4. Forecasters had expected far fewer, with a median estimate of 65,000 compiled by FactSet and about 53,000 in a Dow Jones survey.
The Finance Ministry's figures for July 30 to August 26 are the largest monthly intervention on record, about $96 billion.
Japan's Finance Ministry said it spent a record ¥15.4 trillion, about $96 billion, buying yen in the currency markets between July 30 and August 26, the largest monthly intervention on record, according to the ministry's figures reported at the end of August. Governments intervene this way, selling foreign currency reserves to buy their own currency, to slow a sharp fall in its value, which raises the cost of imports such as fuel and food.
The national average price of a gallon of gasoline reached $4.06, a record for mid-August, as talks with Iran stalled and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained disrupted, Democracy Now reported on August 18. Gasoline prices were up about 25 percent from a year earlier in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Consumer prices rose 3.4 percent over the year, from 3.5 percent in June. Gasoline was up nearly 25 percent; prices excluding food and energy rose 2.5 percent.
Consumer prices were 3.4 percent higher in July than a year earlier, after a 3.5 percent rise in the year to June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Energy prices were up 14.7 percent over the year, led by gasoline at 24.6 percent, while food prices rose 3.0 percent. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 2.5 percent.
Economists had expected a gain of about 80,000. Earlier months were revised down, and wage growth slowed to 3.2 percent a year.
Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 23,000 in July and the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, both little changed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, August 7. Forecasters had expected a gain of roughly 80,000. About 6.9 million people were unemployed.
Prices rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, down from 4.2 percent in May. Excluding food and energy, the rate fell to 2.6 percent.
Consumer prices were 3.5 percent higher in June than a year earlier, down from 4.2 percent in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said July 14. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 2.6 percent over the year, down from 2.9 percent.
The fund cited the war in the Middle East, higher energy prices and stalled progress on inflation, but expects a rebound to 3.4 percent in 2027.
The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for global economic growth this year to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent in its July 8 World Economic Outlook update, citing the war in the Middle East, higher energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty, Reuters reports. It raised its 2027 forecast to 3.4 percent from 3.2 percent and its 2026 global inflation forecast to 4.7 percent.
EIA weekly retail gasoline and daily West Texas Intermediate crude prices, via the St. Louis Fed's FRED database.
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