Why WTI and Brent Prices Differ

Figures from EIA data; latest published observations: WTI Oct 20, 2026, Brent Oct 20, 2026.

WTI and Brent are both light, sweet crude oils, yet they rarely sell for the same price. On Oct 20, 2026, the latest date with both prices published, Brent was $115.22 and WTI was $107.89, so Brent was above WTI by $7.33. Over the year to that date the gap averaged $8.58 and ranged from −$2.45 to $37.62.

What the record shows

Before 2011 the gap was usually small, and in most years WTI averaged slightly above Brent: WTI's annual average was higher in 1988–2006 and 2008–2009. The widest annual gap in the record is 2012, when Brent averaged $17.62 more than WTI.

Location and transport

WTI is priced at Cushing, Oklahoma, in the middle of the continent; Brent is a waterborne North Sea crude. In June 2012 the EIA reported that rising production from inland fields in Canada, North Dakota and Texas, together with limited pipeline capacity out of the center of the continent, was lowering inland benchmarks such as WTI relative to prices elsewhere. [EIA] Restrictions on exporting U.S. crude oil were removed in December 2015, after which U.S. crude was exported to a growing number of countries. [EIA]

Quality

Crude prices around the world tend to move together, with persistent differences between light, sweet grades and heavier, higher-sulfur grades. [EIA] Because WTI and Brent are both light and sweet, quality explains less of the gap between them than location and transport do.

Day-to-day differences

The daily spread also moves with local events, such as storage or pipeline conditions affecting WTI, and with differences in futures contract timing. The widest daily Brent premium in the EIA spot data was $54.34 on Apr 20, 2020, and the widest WTI premium was $22.18 on Sep 22, 2008.

The full daily, monthly and annual spread history is on the WTI vs Brent page.