Benchmark
Brent Crude Oil
Brent is the international crude-oil benchmark, anchoring the price of most of the oil traded outside North America.
Brent originally referred to a single North Sea oil field; today the benchmark blends output from several fields off the U.K. and Norway. Because North Sea crude loads directly onto tankers, Brent connects easily to world markets, which is why producers and refiners across Europe, Africa, and Asia price against it.
Like WTI, the number on this site is the published daily spot price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration rather than a futures quotation. It is the standard reference for what physical Brent sold for on a given trading day.
Brent usually trades above WTI. Watching the two together, and the spread between them, gives a fuller picture of global supply and demand than either benchmark alone.