The short version: WTI and Brent are distinct location and contract benchmarks; calculate their spread from matched price types and dates because the gap has no fixed normal value.

WTI and Brent are both oil benchmarks, but they are not duplicate quotes. They refer to different locations and market structures. Even the word “Brent” can mean a dated physical assessment, a spot series, or a specific futures contract.

Source check: 27 July 2026.

WTI

West Texas Intermediate is a light, sweet U.S. crude benchmark associated with Cushing, Oklahoma. CME’s NYMEX WTI futures specifications define a specific exchange-traded contract, delivery terms, contract size, trading schedule, and settlement process.

A WTI spot observation from EIA and a front-month NYMEX futures settlement are different data points. Futures also identify a delivery month.

Brent

Brent is a widely used seaborne benchmark connected to North Sea crude streams and related pricing methodology. ICE’s Brent Crude Futures specifications define a 1,000-barrel futures contract with exchange-for-physical delivery mechanics and an option to cash settle against the ICE Brent Index under the contract terms.

Dated Brent, ICE Brent futures, and EIA’s Brent spot series should not be silently interchanged.

Calculate a matched spread

State the sign convention. For example:

Brent-WTI spread = Brent price - WTI price

Then match:

  • spot with spot or equivalent contract months with each other;
  • the same currency and per-barrel unit;
  • the same date and compatible settlement time;
  • the same data frequency;
  • a stated roll method for continuous futures series.

A positive result under that convention means Brent is higher. A negative result means WTI is higher.

Why the spread changes

The differential can reflect:

  • supply and inventories around Cushing;
  • U.S. pipeline and export capacity;
  • seaborne freight and insurance;
  • regional disruptions;
  • crude quality and refinery demand;
  • contract timing and futures-curve structure.

No single factor explains every move.

There is no permanent “few-dollar” rule

The spread can narrow, widen, or change sign. On 16 July 2026, EIA reported that Cushing working inventories had fallen below 20 million barrels during several weeks and that the Brent-WTI spot differential had dipped just below zero in mid-June. The agency linked the observation to low Cushing stocks in its tank-bottoms analysis.

That is a dated episode, not a new permanent relationship. It demonstrates why a claim that Brent is always a few dollars above WTI is unsafe.

What the spread does not show

It does not directly measure a refinery’s profit, the retail gasoline margin, or the value of a particular crude cargo. Refiners buy grades at differentials to benchmarks and face product prices, yields, energy costs, freight, and operating constraints. A crack spread is a different calculation.

It also does not tell a user which futures position is suitable. Futures involve leverage, margin, expiry, liquidity, and potentially delivery obligations.

A reproducible chart note

For every spread chart, publish the series names, provider, start and end dates, frequency, missing-data rule, futures roll convention if used, and formula. EIA’s spot-price table provides WTI-Cushing and Brent-Europe series in one official source, which reduces but does not eliminate timing and methodology questions.

Primary and authoritative sources

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