Crude Oil Learning Centre

Practical, data-backed explanations of how oil is priced and traded. Start with the basics, then move on to futures, market drivers and history.

Start here: oil price basics

Brent Crude Oil Price

Current Brent crude oil price live in USD per barrel, with a real-time chart, ICE Brent contract facts and what is driving today's move.

WTI Crude Oil Price

Current WTI crude oil price live in USD per barrel, with a real-time chart, NYMEX contract facts, Cushing delivery and key US drivers.

Brent vs WTI

Brent vs WTI compared: live prices, why Brent trades at a premium, quality and delivery differences, and how the spread has moved since 2010.

Oil Price Per Barrel

Today's oil price per barrel in USD for Brent and WTI, plus calculators converting the barrel price to price per gallon and per litre.

What Moves Oil Prices

What moves oil prices: OPEC+, inventories, demand, spare capacity, geopolitics, the dollar, rates, speculation and the futures curve.

Glossary

Plain-English definitions of 45 crude oil terms: API gravity, backwardation, contango, crack spread, Dated Brent, Cushing, OPEC+ and more.

Crude benchmarks and grades

Crude Oil Benchmarks

Guide to the world's crude oil benchmarks: Brent, WTI, Dubai/Oman, Murban, OPEC basket, Urals and WCS, how each is priced and where it is used.

Dated Brent

What Dated Brent is, how Platts assesses it, the BFOETM basket including WTI Midland, and how it links to ICE Brent futures through CFDs and EFPs.

Brent Spot vs Futures

Brent spot price compared with Brent futures: how each is set, why they differ, where to find daily spot data and which one headlines quote.

Dubai Crude

What Dubai crude is, how Platts assesses Dubai/Oman, the Brent-Dubai spread (EFS) and why it prices most Middle East oil sold to Asia.

Murban Crude

Murban crude explained: ADNOC's light sour grade, ICE Futures Abu Dhabi contract specs, and Murban's growing role in pricing oil for Asia.

OPEC Basket Price

The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB): which member crudes make it up, how it is calculated, how it compares with Brent and where to find it daily.

Urals Crude

Urals crude explained: quality, export routes, the discount to Brent since 2022, the G7 price cap and how sanctions changed Russian oil pricing.

Western Canadian Select

Western Canadian Select explained: heavy sour quality, the Hardisty hub, why WCS trades below WTI, and how Trans Mountain changed the discount.

WTI Midland

WTI Midland explained: Permian production, Gulf Coast export pricing, Midland-Cushing spreads and why it joined the Dated Brent basket in 2023.

Louisiana Light Sweet

Louisiana Light Sweet crude explained: Gulf Coast pricing, the LLS-WTI spread and why LLS often tracks Brent more closely than WTI.

Mars Crude

Mars crude explained: the offshore Gulf of Mexico medium sour grade, how it trades against WTI, and what the Mars differential says about sour demand.

Sweet vs Sour Crude

Sweet vs sour crude oil: sulfur thresholds, why sour crude trades at a discount, refinery complexity and how IMO 2020 changed sour crude prices.

API Gravity

What API gravity measures, the formula, light, medium and heavy thresholds, examples by grade, and why lighter crude usually sells for more.

Supply, demand and market data

OPEC+

What OPEC+ is, its member countries, how production quotas and voluntary cuts work, compliance, spare capacity and the alliance's effect on oil prices.

EIA Inventory Report

How to read the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report: release time, crude and product stocks, Cushing, refinery runs, exports, and why oil moves on it.

API Inventory Report

The API weekly crude inventory report explained: release time, what it covers, how it differs from EIA data and how traders use it to set expectations.

Cushing, Oklahoma

Why Cushing, Oklahoma sets the WTI price: storage capacity, pipelines, tank-bottom risk, weekly stock data and the role of the hub in 2011 and 2020.

Baker Hughes Rig Count

The Baker Hughes rig count explained: release schedule, oil vs gas rigs, the Permian, and the lag between rig changes and US crude production.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve: storage sites, capacity, current level, the 2022 emergency release and refills, and how SPR policy affects prices.

Strait of Hormuz

Why the Strait of Hormuz matters for oil: daily flows, the countries exposed, bypass pipelines, and how disruption threats move Brent prices.

China Oil Demand

How China moves oil prices: crude imports, refinery runs, stockpiling, teapot refiners, EV adoption and the data to watch each month.

US Oil Production

US crude oil production explained: record output, the Permian, shale breakevens, the rig-production lag and how US supply caps oil price rallies.

Oil and the Dollar

How the US dollar affects oil prices: petrodollar pricing, the inverse correlation and when it breaks, and what it means for importers' costs.

Oil Prices and Inflation

How oil prices feed into inflation, consumer spending and GDP: pass-through to CPI, the 1970s versus today, and what central banks watch.

Oil Price Seasonality

Do oil prices follow seasonal patterns? Driving season, refinery maintenance, hurricane season and winter heating, with average returns by month.

Futures and the forward curve

Brent Futures

Brent crude oil futures explained: live front-month price, ICE contract specs, expiry rules, month codes and contango vs backwardation.

WTI Futures

WTI crude oil futures (NYMEX CL): live price, contract specs, last trading day rule, Cushing delivery, Micro WTI and the futures curve.

Micro WTI Futures

Micro WTI crude oil futures (MCL) explained: 100-barrel contract size, cash settlement, tick value, margins and how they compare with standard CL.

Contango & Backwardation

Contango and backwardation in crude oil explained with examples: what the futures curve says about supply, storage economics and ETF roll costs.

Crack Spread

What the crack spread is, how the 3-2-1 crack is calculated, why refining margins matter for crude demand, and how to follow gasoline and diesel cracks.

Oil Futures Expiry Calendar

Expiry dates for Brent and WTI crude oil futures in 2026 and 2027, how each last trading day is calculated, and when quote services roll.

Oil Futures Rollover

How oil futures rollover works: why continuous charts gap, the cost of rolling in contango, and how ETFs and CFD providers handle the roll.

Oil Trading Hours

Crude oil trading hours for Brent (ICE) and WTI (CME Globex) in ET, London, Dubai, Mumbai and Singapore time, plus settlement windows and holidays.

Trading and investing

How to Trade Crude Oil

A practical guide to trading crude oil: futures, options, ETFs and CFDs compared, contract sizes, margin, costs, risk management and common mistakes.

Oil Futures Calculator

Calculate profit or loss on crude oil futures and CFDs: contract value, tick value, long and short P/L for CL, MCL and Brent positions.

Oil ETFs

How oil ETFs work: USO, BNO and others, futures-based structure, roll yield, why ETF returns differ from the oil price and when they suit investors.

Crude Oil Options

Crude oil options explained: calls and puts on WTI and Brent futures, implied volatility (OVX), hedging examples and the risks for buyers and sellers.

Oil CFDs

How oil CFDs work: pricing from futures, spreads, overnight financing, leverage and margin calls, plus regulatory risk warnings by region.

Oil Stocks

How oil company stocks relate to the oil price: integrated majors, E&P producers, refiners and services, with sensitivities and live quotes.

COT Report Crude Oil

How to read the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for crude oil: managed money net length, release timing, ICE Brent COT data and contrarian signals.

Technical Analysis

Crude oil technical analysis: trends, support and resistance, moving averages, RSI and volume on Brent and WTI, with live technical summaries.

Forecasts

Oil Price Forecast

Oil price forecasts for 2026 and 2027 from the EIA, IEA, OPEC and major banks, dated and compared, with the assumptions and risks behind each.

Long-Term Oil Outlook

Long-term oil price outlook: IEA and OPEC scenarios, peak demand debates, supply investment and what could keep oil above or below $70 to 2030.

Producers and consumers

Oil Producing Countries

The world's largest oil producing countries ranked by output and exports, with reserves, key grades and each country's influence on oil prices.

Fuels and the energy complex

Natural Gas Price

Natural gas prices explained: Henry Hub, Dutch TTF and Asian LNG benchmarks, the gas-to-oil ratio, storage reports and the link to crude prices.

Gasoline Price

How crude oil becomes the gasoline price: RBOB futures, the crack spread, taxes and distribution, and why pump prices rise fast and fall slowly.

Diesel Price

What drives diesel prices: crude costs, distillate cracks, refinery capacity, Russian product sanctions and freight demand, with US and EU price data.

Heating Oil Price

Heating oil and ULSD prices explained: NYMEX HO futures, the diesel crack, winter demand and why distillates can rise faster than crude.

Jet Fuel Price

Jet fuel prices explained: kerosene benchmarks, the jet crack spread, airline hedging and how a $10 change in crude affects airline fuel bills.

Why Gas Prices Lag Oil

Why pump prices react slowly to falling oil: rockets and feathers, inventory costs, retail margins, taxes and the typical lag between crude and the pump.

Prices in other units and currencies

Crude Oil Price in INR

Live crude oil price in Indian rupees per barrel, converted from Brent and WTI with the live USD/INR rate, plus MCX crude oil contract basics.

Oil Price in Euro

Today's Brent crude oil price in euros per barrel, using the live EUR/USD rate, with a converter and why a strong euro cushions European fuel costs.

Oil Price in Pounds

Live Brent crude oil price in British pounds per barrel, converted with the live GBP/USD rate, plus how sterling and oil affect UK petrol prices.

Oil Price in CAD

WTI crude oil price in Canadian dollars per barrel with the live USD/CAD rate, the WCS heavy-oil discount and why the loonie tracks oil.

Price Per Gallon

Today's crude oil price per US gallon for Brent and WTI, the barrel-to-gallon maths, and how crude cost per gallon compares with the pump price.

Price Per Litre

Live crude oil price per litre converted from Brent and WTI barrel prices, with a calculator in USD, EUR and GBP and the litre-to-barrel conversion.

Price Per Tonne

Crude oil price per metric tonne from the live barrel price, barrels-per-tonne factors by grade, and why Asian and Russian trade quotes tonnes.