Today copper is $4.00/lb and oil is $115.00/barrel. Are these items ';expensive'; if adjusted for inflation?

Yes.





Oil prices have gone up by more than a factor of 10 in the last 10 years:


http://www.ioga.com/Special/crudeoil_His鈥?/a>





Copper hit a 60 year low of $0.60/pound in 1999 and then hit $2.40 in February of 2007.





Inflation rates in the United states have been under 5% for the last 10 years,





To get the inflation, go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site:


http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm





Among other things, their little calculator says that $100 in 1998 has the same buying power as $131. in 2008.