Cost of US oil consumption as percentage of GDP

The most recent figure is for 2011-Q2, which comes in at 1.17%.

With oil prices now $20 cheaper than 2011-Q2, 2011-Q3 will likely see a drop.

Methodology:

The average oil price for the quarter is multiplied by oil consumption for the quarter, which is then measured as a percentage of nominal GDP.

Sources:

• West Texas Intermediate, price averaged out for quarterly figure. Link.
• US Oil Consumption, quarterly. Link.
• Nominal GDP, quarterly. Link.

Notes:

• Orange lines represent recessions (annual decline of real GDP per capita)
• Yellow line represents historical average of 0.82% of GDP.