Commodities · 15 November 2026 · 10 min · By Álvaro Casanueva

Brent vs WTI: Key Differences and Why the Spread Changes

Brent vs WTI explained: origin, delivery, quality and why Brent costs more. Comparison table, spread maths and extremes like WTI's negative price in 2020.

The difference between Brent and WTI comes down to where the crude is produced, how it is delivered and who uses it as a reference. Brent is an index of North Sea crudes (plus exported WTI Midland since 2023) loaded onto tankers; WTI is US crude delivered by pipeline at Cushing, Oklahoma.

You see both prices in the news every day, but they do not move in lockstep. Prices as of 13 November 2026: Brent settled at $95.84 a barrel and WTI at $88.56, according to The Nation — a gap of $7.28. This guide explains where that gap comes from, how wide it normally is, when it blows out and what it means if you follow oil as an investor or trader.

What is Brent crude oil?

Brent is the benchmark price for light crude from the North Sea, between the UK and Norway. It takes its name from the Brent field, discovered by Shell in the 1970s, but that field now produces very little: the index is built from a basket of crudes loaded at marine terminals.

The physical benchmark, known as Dated Brent, is published by the price reporting agency Platts (S&P Global). Its basket includes Brent, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll and, since June 2023 cargoes, US WTI Midland delivered into Europe, according to Platts' methodology note. In other words, part of "Brent" is actually Texas oil.

What you see on a trading platform is almost always the Brent futures contract on ICE Futures Europe, the London-based exchange. Each contract covers 1,000 barrels and, at expiry, is cash-settled against the ICE Brent Index, with no obligation to take physical delivery.

What is WTI crude oil?

WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is the benchmark price for US light crude. It trades on CME Group's NYMEX exchange in 1,000-barrel contracts, and its defining feature is that the contract settles by physical delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma, the country's largest hub of pipelines and storage tanks.

Because delivery happens inland, WTI is highly sensitive to what happens inside the United States: shale output, pipeline capacity to the Gulf of Mexico and the inventory levels published every Wednesday by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Brent vs WTI: comparison table

This table sums up how the two benchmarks differ:

The sulphur ranges are indicative: every cargo varies and exact figures depend on the source. What matters is that both are high-quality crudes that are easy to refine into petrol and diesel, and that the quality difference does not on its own explain why Brent usually trades higher. The explanation lies in logistics.

Why is Brent more expensive than WTI?

Brent is usually more expensive than WTI because it is loaded straight onto ships and can be sold into any port in the world, while WTI is delivered at Cushing, hundreds of kilometres from the coast. To export that crude, someone has to pay for the pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico and the sea freight, and that cost is reflected as a discount in WTI's price.

Three further factors move the gap from day to day:

• Geopolitical risk on shipping routes. A threat in the Strait of Hormuz or the Red Sea lifts the price of seaborne crude (Brent) more than that of crude moving by pipeline inside the US.
• Inventories at Cushing. When the Oklahoma tanks fill up, WTI cheapens relative to Brent; when they empty, it firms.
• US production and exports. More shale output and too little capacity to get it to the coast weigh on WTI.

What is the normal Brent-WTI spread?

In normal conditions, Brent trades $2 to $5 a barrel above WTI. That range matches what reference guides such as the one from Spain's consumer association OCU explain. When the gap moves outside that range, there is almost always a transport, storage or supply problem behind it.

The extremes worth knowing

• 2011: the Cushing bottleneck. The shale boom filled the Oklahoma tanks before there were enough pipelines to the Gulf of Mexico, and Brent's premium topped $25 a barrel in autumn 2011. The gap gradually closed as new pipelines were built and, above all, when the United States lifted its ban on crude exports in December 2015, a ban that had been in place since the 1970s.
• 20 April 2020: WTI goes negative. The May WTI contract settled at minus $37.63 a barrel, its first negative close since trading began in 1983. Lockdowns had crushed demand, the Cushing tanks were very full and holders of contracts about to expire had to pay to avoid taking delivery of the crude, as the EIA explains. Brent, which is cash-settled, never fell below zero.
• 2 April 2026: WTI above Brent. With tanker traffic through Hormuz almost at a standstill, the front-month WTI contract reached $111.29 against $107.57 for Brent, according to Oilprice.com, something that had not happened for about four years. The market paid more for barrels that could be loaded without passing through the Gulf. Part of the inversion was technical: WTI was quoting the May contract while Brent had already rolled to June.
• November 2026: back to a wide gap. On 13 November, Brent ($95.84) was $7.28 above WTI ($88.56), well outside the usual range, with the blockade on Iran still in place.

The lesson for investors is clear: the spread is not a fixed number. It is a gauge of where the oil market's problem lies at any given moment.

Worked example: how to calculate the Brent-WTI spread

The method works for any day. As an example, we use the closing prices of 13 November 2026:

1. Spread per barrel: 95.84 − 88.56 = $7.28.
2. Spread as a percentage of WTI: 7.28 ÷ 88.56 = 0.0822, or 8.2%.
3. Price per litre of crude: a barrel holds 42 US gallons, about 158.99 litres. 95.84 ÷ 158.99 = $0.60 per litre of Brent; 88.56 ÷ 158.99 = $0.56 per litre of WTI. That is the price of crude, not fuel: petrol prices also include refining, transport, margins and taxes.
4. Value of the spread on one futures contract: since each contract is 1,000 barrels, 7.28 × 1,000 = $7,280 difference between one Brent contract and one WTI contract.

What happens if the spread moves

Some professionals trade the spread itself: they buy one Brent contract and sell one WTI contract (or the other way round). With 1,000-barrel contracts, every dollar the spread moves equals $1,000 of profit or loss:

This illustrates the calculation; it is not a recommendation. Trades like this require a lot of capital and carry a risk of loss, because the gap can move violently against you, as it did in April 2026.

Brent vs WTI: which should you follow as an investor or trader?

In the Brent vs WTI comparison, neither is "better": it depends on what you want to track.

• If you live in Spain or elsewhere in Europe, Brent is the benchmark that affects you most: it is used to price the crude Europe imports and it feeds through first into petrol, diesel and eurozone inflation (always combined with the euro-dollar exchange rate).
• If you follow the US economy or US oil companies, WTI better reflects their domestic market.
• If you trade CFDs or futures, bear in mind that WTI tends to be more sensitive to the EIA's weekly inventory data (Wednesdays) and to conditions at Cushing, while Brent reacts more to Middle East geopolitics and seaborne shipping.

With CFDs, each broker sets the size of its oil "lot" (100 or 1,000 barrels, for example) and charges overnight financing. Before opening a position, work out how much you are risking with the position size calculator and read the risk warning: leverage magnifies gains and losses alike.

What to watch to understand the Brent-WTI spread

These are the data releases and events that move both benchmarks and the gap between them most:

You can follow the dates of these releases on our economic calendar.

Brent and WTI prices today: what is happening now

In November 2026 oil is heading for a second straight weekly loss. After plunging 16% (Brent) and 13% (WTI) in the week to 6 November, both were on course to end the week to 13 November with a further fall of about 2.5%, according to The Nation. The main driver is fear of an oversupplied market following the International Energy Agency's report, together with rising US inventories. We cover this in detail in Trump, Iran and Hormuz: why oil is falling.

In its November outlook, the EIA expects Brent to stay close to $100 for the rest of 2026 and to average $86 in 2027 as Middle East production recovers. It also warns that flows through Hormuz remain exposed to disruption. For the spread, that means that as long as the risk lies on the shipping lanes, Brent is likely to hold a wider-than-usual premium.

Common mistakes when comparing Brent and WTI

1. Thinking Brent is "better" oil. WTI is in fact slightly lighter and lower in sulphur. Brent's premium comes from its logistics and its role as the global benchmark, not its quality.
2. Comparing contracts for different months. If you look at December WTI and January Brent, the gap you calculate includes the difference between months. Always compare the same expiry.
3. Assuming the full price of crude passes through to the pump. Crude is only part of the pump price; in Spain, taxes and the exchange rate weigh heavily.
4. Forgetting about expiry. April 2020 shows that holding a physically delivered future to the end can be very expensive. CFDs and ETCs also "roll" from one contract to the next, and that affects the price you see.
5. Assuming the spread will quickly return to $2–5. It can take months if the underlying problem (a blockade, a closed route, full tanks) is not resolved.

Other oil benchmarks

Besides Brent and WTI, there are other important benchmarks: Dubai/Oman, used for Middle Eastern crude sold into Asia; Abu Dhabi's Murban, which trades on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi; and the OPEC basket, an average of its members' crudes. For a retail investor in Europe, however, Brent and WTI cover almost everything worth tracking. You will find more guides and analysis in our commodities section.

Frequently asked questions

Which oil benchmark does Spain use, Brent or WTI?

Brent. It is the benchmark for the crude imported into Europe and the one fuel prices in Spain track, combined with the euro-dollar exchange rate.

Why can WTI be cheaper if it is higher quality?

Because it is delivered inland, at Cushing, Oklahoma. Getting it to the coast and exporting it costs money, and its price depends on US inventories and production. Brent, by contrast, is loaded straight onto ships.

Can WTI trade above Brent?

Yes, although it is rare. It happened, for example, on 2 April 2026, when the Hormuz crisis led the market to pay more for US crude that could be exported without passing through the Gulf. It was partly the effect of comparing contracts for different months, and Brent regained its premium within days.

How many litres are in a barrel of oil?

A barrel holds 42 US gallons, about 159 litres (158.99). With Brent at $95.84, crude works out at around $0.60 a litre before refining.

Can Brent go negative like WTI did in 2020?

It is much harder. Brent futures are cash-settled and the crude is sold by sea, so it does not suffer from the storage problem that sank WTI at Cushing. In April 2020 Brent fell sharply, but never below zero.