You'll see two crude oil prices quoted in every energy market report: Brent and WTI. They're different benchmarks that reflect different parts of the global oil market — and the spread between them tells a story about regional supply and demand dynamics.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is light, sweet crude oil extracted primarily in Texas and North Dakota. It's the benchmark for US oil production and is priced at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage and pipeline hub — the main distribution center for US oil.
WTI futures trade on the NYMEX exchange in New York. When US media reports "the oil price," they typically mean WTI.
Brent crude is extracted from several North Sea oil fields and is the international benchmark — used to price roughly two-thirds of global crude oil production. Brent futures trade on the ICE exchange in London.
The name "Brent" comes from the Shell-operated Brent oilfield in the North Sea, though the Brent benchmark today represents a blend of crude from several North Sea fields.
The Brent-WTI spread (the price difference between them) reflects several factors: transportation costs from the US interior to export terminals, US export capacity constraints, regional refinery demand, and geopolitical risk premiums on North Sea vs Gulf Coast production.
When US shale production surged in the 2010s and export capacity was limited, WTI frequently traded at a significant discount to Brent — as much as $20–25 per barrel. As US export infrastructure expanded, the spread narrowed. Today the spread is typically $2–$5, with Brent at a modest premium.
Oil Prices Live shows both WTI and Brent simultaneously with their current prices and the live spread between them. For traders, refiners, and energy analysts, the spread is as important as either absolute price.
View the historical spread chart to see how it has moved over time — useful for identifying whether the current spread is wide or narrow relative to recent history.
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