Crude Oil Price per Barrel Chart (WTI vs Brent)
LIVEThe crude oil price per barrel is the US-dollar cost of one 42-gallon barrel of unrefined oil. It is set mainly by two futures benchmarks: WTI, the US grade delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma, and Brent, the North Sea seaborne grade. The live chart below shows both, so you can compare the level, trend and spread.
Live WTI and Brent crude oil prices in USD per barrel. Updates automatically.
What this oil price chart shows
The chart has two tabs: WTI Crude (TradingView symbol TVC:USOIL) and Brent Crude (TVC:UKOIL). Both are continuous quotes that follow the front-month futures contract of each benchmark, priced in US dollars per barrel. Switch tabs to compare the two, and use the range buttons (1D, 1M, 3M, 12M, 60M, All) to zoom from intraday moves out to the full history available in the widget.
This page is the general hub for the price of oil per barrel. If you only follow one benchmark, the dedicated pages go deeper: the WTI crude oil price chart covers NYMEX futures, Cushing storage and the April 2020 negative price, while the Brent crude oil price chart covers ICE Brent, Dated Brent and the North Sea basket.
The chart shows unrefined crude. What you pay for gasoline or diesel also includes refining margins, distribution, retail costs and taxes, so pump prices follow crude with a lag and never move one-for-one.
WTI vs Brent: which oil price is "the" oil price?
There is no single world oil price. Most headlines quote one of two light, sweet benchmarks, and other crude grades are usually priced at a premium or discount to them.
| WTI (West Texas Intermediate) | Brent | |
|---|---|---|
| Region it reflects | US inland market | Seaborne, internationally traded crude |
| Main futures contract | NYMEX (CME Group), ticker CL | ICE Futures Europe, ticker B |
| Settlement | Physical delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma | Cash-settled against the ICE Brent Index |
| Contract size | 1,000 barrels | 1,000 barrels |
| Chart symbol here | TVC:USOIL | TVC:UKOIL |
| Dedicated page | WTI price chart | Brent price chart |
The difference between them is the WTI-Brent spread. Since US shale output surged in the early 2010s, Brent has usually traded above WTI, because Brent can be loaded onto tankers anywhere while WTI has to be moved from inland Oklahoma to the coast first. The gap widens and narrows with pipeline capacity, US export demand, freight costs and regional supply shocks.
How to read the crude oil price per barrel graph
- Pick a range. 1D shows intraday trading; 12M shows the yearly trend; All shows the long-term cycle.
- Read the change in percent, not just dollars. A $5 move matters much more when oil is at $40 than at $120. The widget shows both.
- Compare both tabs. If WTI and Brent move together, the driver is global (OPEC+, demand, the dollar). If only one moves, look for a regional cause such as US inventories or a North Sea outage.
- Use a log scale for long history. Oil has traded from the low teens to well above $100 in the last few decades. On a linear axis the early years look flat; a logarithmic axis shows percentage moves at equal size.
- Watch for rollover gaps. Continuous futures charts switch from one monthly contract to the next, which can create small jumps that are not real market moves.
Barrel units and conversions
Crude is priced per barrel (bbl), a volume unit fixed at 42 US gallons. Use these to turn a per-barrel price into other units:
| Unit | Equivalent | Price conversion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 barrel | 42 US gallons | Price per gallon = price per barrel ÷ 42 |
| 1 barrel | 158.987 litres | Price per litre = price per barrel ÷ 158.987 |
| 1 cubic metre | 6.2898 barrels | Price per m³ = price per barrel × 6.2898 |
| 1 metric tonne of crude | about 7 to 7.6 barrels, depending on density | Lighter crude gives more barrels per tonne |
Worked example (hypothetical price): if crude were $84 per barrel, that is $84 ÷ 42 = $2.00 per gallon of crude, or $84 ÷ 158.987 ≈ $0.53 per litre. Production volumes are usually quoted in barrels per day (b/d), for example kb/d (thousand) or mb/d (million). For other unit conversions see the unit converter.
Key moments on the long-term oil chart
- 1973 to 1974: the Arab oil embargo roughly quadrupled posted oil prices and started the modern era of oil price shocks.
- 1979 to 1980: the Iranian Revolution and the start of the Iran-Iraq War caused the second oil shock.
- August 1990: Iraq's invasion of Kuwait sent prices sharply higher for several months.
- July 2008: both benchmarks hit record highs near $147 per barrel intraday, then collapsed during the financial crisis.
- 2014 to 2016: a long slump followed rising US shale supply and OPEC's November 2014 decision not to cut output.
- 20 April 2020: the expiring May WTI futures contract settled at −$37.63, the first negative close in its history, as US storage filled during COVID-19 lockdowns.
- 2022: Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed Brent above $120 for a time.
What moves the price of oil per barrel
- OPEC+ supply policy: production targets set by OPEC members and allies such as Russia.
- US shale output: drilling responds to price within months, which can cap rallies.
- Inventories: the US EIA's weekly petroleum status report (normally Wednesday) is one of the most-watched data releases.
- Global demand: economic growth, especially in China, India, the US and Europe, plus seasonal driving and heating demand.
- The US dollar: oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes it more expensive for other buyers. Compare with the forex rates page.
- Geopolitics and shipping: sanctions, conflict and disruptions at chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz.
Common mistakes when reading oil prices
- Quoting WTI and Brent interchangeably. They are different prices, and the spread between them can be several dollars.
- Treating the 2020 negative price as "oil was free everywhere". It applied to one expiring WTI futures contract on one day; Brent stayed positive.
- Comparing prices across decades without inflation adjustment. Charts here are nominal dollars.
- Reading a rollover jump on a continuous chart as a real price move.
New to price charts? Our guide on how to read a chart explains axes, scales and trend lines. Commodity traders often watch oil alongside gold and uranium as broader inflation and energy signals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the oil barrel price chart show?
It shows the live price of crude oil in US dollars per barrel for the two main benchmarks: WTI (TVC:USOIL) and Brent (TVC:UKOIL). Both follow front-month futures. Switch tabs to compare them and use the range buttons to view anything from one day to the full history.
What is the price of oil per barrel today?
The live chart at the top of this page shows the current WTI and Brent price per barrel and the change for the day. We do not print a fixed number in the text because oil trades almost around the clock on weekdays and any written figure would quickly be out of date.
Is the crude oil price per barrel WTI or Brent?
Both are used. US news usually quotes WTI, while international news and many oil importers quote Brent. Brent has generally been higher than WTI since the early 2010s, so always check which benchmark a price refers to.
How many gallons are in a barrel of oil?
One oil barrel is exactly 42 US gallons, or about 158.99 litres. To convert a price per barrel to a price per gallon of crude, divide by 42. That is the cost of unrefined crude, not the retail gasoline price.
Why did the oil price go negative in April 2020?
On 20 April 2020 the expiring May WTI futures contract settled at minus 37.63 dollars because storage at Cushing, Oklahoma was nearly full and holders had to pay others to take physical delivery. Later WTI contracts and Brent stayed positive.
How do I see a long-term crude oil prices per barrel graph?
Select the All range on the chart to see the full history in the widget. For multi-decade comparisons a logarithmic scale is best, because it shows percentage moves at equal size and keeps the low-price years readable.