This chart shows how gas prices have changed over 1998 to 2019. It is based on the latest (Apr 2019) available data from the BLS. The data can be found here. Hover over the chart for more details.

From 2002 onwards, there was a steady increase in prices upto 2008.

There was a crash around 2008-2009 and started recovering again from 2010.

Thereafter, prices remained steady till 2015.

Prices dropped again from 2015 to 2017.

After another smaller peak in 2018, we are seeing prices drop in 2019.

Oil price changes due to world events

The following graphic shows a brief overview of how oil prices have changed, and world events that might have influenced the prices. The data for this table (which shows leaded gasoline prices till 1990 and unleaded regular after that) was obtained from Energy.gov.

References