$100 in 1998 is worth $106 in 2000,
because prices increased 5.6% over that period, an average of
2.78% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$106
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
5.6%
Average inflation rate
2.78% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$106
Price difference ($100 base)
$5.64
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1998 → 2000
$106
$100 in 2000 → 1998
$94.66
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2000
Between 1998 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 5.6%, which works out to an average of
2.78% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.95 buys in 2000: the 1998 dollar
lost 5.3% of its purchasing power over
these 2 years.
The median household earned about $38,900 in 1998, gas averaged just $1.06 a gallon, its
cheapest of the decade, and a new home cost roughly $152,500. Inflation ran at 1.6% for the
year, the lowest of the 1990s, as a glut of crude oil, worsened by weak demand from Asia’s
slowdown, pushed prices below $11 a barrel by December and pulled pump prices down with them.
The calm at home came alongside real turmoil abroad: in August, Russia devalued the ruble and
defaulted on its domestic debt, rattling markets already unsettled by the Asian financial
crisis, and in September the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management collapsed after its highly
leveraged bets went bad, prompting the Federal Reserve to organize a private-sector bailout by
more than a dozen banks to prevent a disorderly unwinding of its roughly $100 billion in
positions. The Fed also cut interest rates three times that fall, in September, October, and
November, an insurance policy against the global financial turmoil spreading to the U.S.
economy. Cheap oil and a well-timed set of rate cuts left 1998 as a year the U.S. economy
absorbed two foreign financial crises without much of a dent at home.
Every 1998 amount converts to 2000 at the same ratio, 1.06: $1,000 becomes
$1,056, and $10,000 becomes $10,564.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2000
$1.00
$1.06
$5.00
$5.28
$10.00
$10.56
$20.00
$21.13
$50.00
$52.82
$100
$106
$500
$528
$1,000
$1,056
$5,000
$5,282
$10,000
$10,564
$100,000
$105,644
$1,000,000
$1,056,442
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2000
Between 1998 and 2000, energy rose the most, up 21.1%, while apparel fell 2.6%, against 5.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.78%
$106
Energy
10.04%
$121
Transportation
4.05%
$108
Medical care
3.79%
$108
Housing
2.83%
$106
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.25%
$105
Food
2.19%
$104
Education & communication
1.09%
$102
Recreation
1.08%
$102
Apparel
-1.29%
$97.44
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $102 by
1999, on its way to $106 in 2000; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2000, and the smallest rise was 2.2% in 1999.
In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $106; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1998 to 2000: $100 is worth $106 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2000/