Energy Price Inflation (CPI)
Year-over-year change in the energy component of the CPI
What is the current Energy Price Inflation (CPI) reading?
Energy prices in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index were 16% higher than a year earlier in August 2026, by our calculation from the seasonally adjusted index. That rate is up from 0.4% in August 2025. The energy index covers gasoline, fuel oil, electricity and piped natural gas for urban consumers. BLS's own 12-month figure uses the unadjusted index and can differ. Source: BLS CPI (CUSR0000SA0E).
Measurement basis: Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Energy CPI (CUSR0000SA0E); seasonally adjusted values may be revised
CPI energy prices were 16% higher than a year earlier in August 2026, up from a rate of 0.4% in August 2025.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics energy index follows the prices people in U.S. cities and suburbs pay for gasoline, fuel oil, electricity and piped natural gas, taxes included. Over the 12 months to August 2026, those prices went up 16%. The yearly rate is up from 0.4% in August 2025. It rose from 14.4% in July 2026.
The rate has been above its year-earlier level for seven months in a row.
A rate above zero means energy prices are still above where they were a year earlier, even in a month when the rate slows.
The index combines motor fuel with home energy, and the parts can go their own way within a single year. BLS reports gasoline, fuel oil, electricity and piped gas separately in each release. The index tracks prices, not bills: what a household pays also depends on how much energy it uses. The energy cost burden sets energy spending against disposable income, and CPI Inflation Rate (All Items) covers the whole consumer basket.
We compute the yearly change from the seasonally adjusted index, meaning BLS has removed the usual calendar swings. BLS headlines the 12-month change from the unadjusted index, and for energy the two can differ by a few points in the same month. There is no figure for October 2025, when the federal government shutdown stopped data collection, and so there will be no yearly change for October 2026. The index covers urban consumers, over 90 percent of the U.S. population.
Explore Further
Energy Price Inflation (CPI) over time: what has changed?
Counties with the highest debt burden scores
These are debt burden scores from our County Distress Index, not county readings of Energy Price Inflation (CPI).
Explore all 3,144 counties →| Period | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 16% | +15.6 pp |
| Jul 2026 | 14.4% | +15.6 pp |
| Jun 2026 | 15.5% | +16.1 pp |
| May 2026 | 23% | +26.1 pp |
| Apr 2026 | 17.5% | +21.1 pp |
| Mar 2026 | 12.6% | +16 pp |
| Feb 2026 | 0.4% | +0.8 pp |
| Jan 2026 | -0.3% | -1.1 pp |
| Dec 2025 | 2.1% | +2.4 pp |
| Nov 2025 | 4.2% | +7.3 pp |
| Sep 2025 | 2.9% | +9.7 pp |
| Aug 2025 | 0.4% | +4.4 pp |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current energy inflation rate?
In August 2026, the CPI energy index stood 16% above its level a year earlier, by our calculation from the seasonally adjusted series (CUSR0000SA0E). BLS's headline 12-month change uses the unadjusted index, so the figure it publishes can differ.
Is energy CPI the same as gas prices or utility bills?
No. Gasoline is one part of the index; fuel oil, electricity and piped natural gas are the others, so the total can differ a lot from any one of them. The index tracks prices, not bills, which also depend on how much a household uses. Pump-price surveys from other sources, such as the Energy Information Administration or AAA, are collected differently and on different schedules.
Where does energy CPI data come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the energy index every month in its consumer price index report, about two weeks after the month ends. We use the seasonally adjusted series CUSR0000SA0E and compute the change from 12 months earlier. Since June 2021, BLS has priced gasoline from a secondary-source dataset of station prices rather than its own collection.
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