The significance of a benchmark in the oil market is that benchmarks serve as a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil. Though Brent crude and WTI crude are the most popular benchmarks, their prices are often contrasted. The difference in price between Brent and WTI is called the Brent-WTI spread. The commodity of crude oil is by far the world’s most important energy source and the price of oil therefore plays an important role in industrial and economic development. The most important type of crude oil used in Europe is Brent Crude, named after the North Sea oilfield where it is extracted. Brent Crude is a particularly light crude oil which is carried from the North Sea to the Sullom Voe Terminal on Mainland, Shetland by an underwater pipeline.

1. However, sometimes the WTI barrel is less expensive than the Brent barrel, but this difference has never historically exceeded 27 dollars.
2. WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate (occasionally called Texas Light Sweet), an oil benchmark that is central to commodities trading.
3. Several indicators are taken into account in the price calculation of the WTI barrel.
4. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is a specific grade of crude oil and one of the main three benchmarks in oil pricing, along with Brent and Dubai Crude.
5. Therefore, for European oil, Brent from the North Sea acts as the reference, whereas for the OPEC countries, it is the Dubai crude which is referred to for the price determination.

A surge of WTI production has led many traders to consider it an important pricing benchmark vs. Brent, if not even close to the total production of the latter. As for the WTI crude oil, it is quoted in almost all economic announcements from this sector in the United States and North America. Leveraged trading in foreign currency or off-exchange products on margin carries significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. We advise you to carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for you based on your personal circumstances.

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Because the standard and eventual uses of oil being drilled depends heavily on the field it comes from, oil is traded in benchmarks. These allow oil traders to know what type of oil is traded (and will eventually be delivered) immediately. Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and https://www.forexbox.info/best-bitcoin-and-crypto-wallets-for-2021/ may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose.

Another factor that can lead to significant differences between Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate is geopolitical trouble. During times of crisis, the spread blows out as political uncertainty leads to surges in Brent Crude prices. West Texas Intermediate is less affected because it is based in landlocked areas in the United States. Many energy analysts predict that oil could soon touch $100 a barrel, even as electric cars become more popular and the coronavirus pandemic persists. Exxon Mobil and other oil companies that only a year ago were considered endangered dinosaurs by some Wall Street analysts are thriving, raking in their biggest profits in years.

The price of oil is a major factor in the overall health of the energy sector and is one of the most heavily traded commodities as it is influenced by almost every global, macro event. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate is the preferred measure and pricing model. As of August 31, 2021, WTI was trading at around $68.50 per barrel, while Brent traded at $72.85. This post is for educational purposes and should not be considered as investment advice. The financial transaction services present on this site in the form of advertising are totally independent from trade-oil.com and are provided for information purposes only. Despite all the care taken during the writing of our articles there is still a slight risk of errors made in the information given.

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For example whereas WTI is the principal crude oil traded on the American markets, Brent is the primary crude oil in the petroleum sector on the European markets. It should be noted that certain differences exist relating to the composition and concentration of these two major types of crude oil. Crude oil flows “inbound to Cushing from all directions and outbound through dozens of pipelines”.[16] It is in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States.

Brent Crude vs. West Texas Intermediate (WTI): The Differences

Its production sites and its properties therefore make it ideal for refining in the United States. It should also be noted that the API gravity of WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is around 39.6° and its specific density is 0.827. WTI is one of the most referenced benchmarks used in oil news reports on oil prices, along with the Brent price – which comes from the North Sea. WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate (occasionally called Texas Light Sweet), an oil benchmark that is central to commodities trading. It is one of the three major oil benchmarks used in trading, the others being Brent crude and Dubai/Oman.

Brent is also tied to more worldwide oil markets and serves as an international benchmark, meaning that more factors are influencing its price. Furthermore, transporting WTI overseas to Brent crude’s market could come at a cost that would make WTI unable to compete with Brent crude in terms of pricing. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a trading classification of crude oil and one of the most commonly used benchmarks in oil prices. Theoretically, WTI crude should trade at a premium to Brent crude, given the quality, but this is not always the case. While the two crude oil varieties can trade at similar price points, each one has its own unique supply and demand market, and therefore its price reflects its individual market fundamentals. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) controls most of the oil production and distribution, often dictating costs for not only oil suppliers but countries as well.

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Please do not hesitate to report them to us in the case whereby you find a mistake. WTI crude oil can be characterised by its lightness https://www.forex-world.net/currency-pairs/eur-sgd/ as it is in fact lighter than Brent crude oil. It contains approximately 0.24% of sulphur which means it is a ‘light’ crude oil.

On an international level there are a number of different types of crude oil, each of which have different properties and prices. The types of crude oil come from regions as diverse as Alaska North Lope, Arab Light or Zueitina in Libya. For the purposes of trading on futures exchanges in London or New York, however, reference oils are used. These are standardised products used to determine the prices for all other types. The reference oil traded most frequently and of major significance for the USA is West Texas Intermediate (WTI), while the most important in Asia is Dubai Fateh.

Both benchmark oils are considered sweet, but WTI is sweeter making it a bit easier to refine. Besides its primary role as the most important energy source, crude oil is also an essential raw material for manufacturing plastics. Because the supply of crude oil is limited but demand is constantly increasing, the price of oil is also continuously rising. Because crude oil is needed to manufacture other primary materials, it is the world’s most important commodity. The US investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates the proportion of crude oil used for primary materials production to be 45 per cent. One of the characteristics of the WTI crude oil is that it is much lighter than Brent.

HOUSTON — Oil prices are increasing, again, casting a shadow over the economy, driving up inflation and eroding consumer confidence. Most of the time, the WTI is refined directly in the United States, mainly in the Midwest and near the Gulf Coast the best etfs for 2021 by recent performance for practical reasons as the production sites are nearby. West Texas Intermediate plays an important role in managing risk in the energy sector worldwide as it has high liquidity, a large number of customers, and a lot of transparency.