Brent, the oil price quoted for North Sea crude, has averaged higher than West Texas Intermediate (WTI) in every calendar year since 2011. WTI is the price quoted for US crude traded at Cushing, Oklahoma. In 2026, from 2 January to 3 November, the gap averaged $9.99 a barrel.
Before 2007, the order was the reverse. WTI had the higher yearly average in each of the 20 years from 1987 to 2006. We wrote this on 11 November 2026, using daily prices that end on 3 November 2026.
Is Brent or WTI higher? Brent has averaged higher than WTI in every calendar year since 2011. Brent and WTI are benchmarks, meaning reference prices that other oils are priced against.
Brent has averaged higher than WTI in every calendar year since 2011, while WTI had the higher average in each year from 1987 to 2006.
The gap is the Brent price minus the WTI price, in dollars a barrel. From 20 May 1987 to 3 November 2026, the median gap (the middle value) was $0.27 and the mean gap (the simple average) was $2.26.
The widest gap was $54.34 on 20 April 2020. The WTI spot price (the price for oil bought and delivered now) was -$36.98 that day, while Brent was $17.36.
What are Brent and WTI?
Crude oil is oil as it comes out of the ground, before refining. Producers sell it in many grades, so traders use a few reference grades to set prices. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) calls these "marker" grades.
The EIA defines Brent as a blended crude stream produced in the North Sea region. It defines WTI as a crude stream produced in Texas and southern Oklahoma, traded in the domestic spot market at Cushing, Oklahoma.
A spot price is the price for oil bought and delivered now. A futures price is agreed today for delivery later.
Our guide to how the oil market works covers the wider picture.
How big is the gap between Brent and WTI?
We call the gap the spread. It is the Brent price minus the WTI price. A positive number means Brent costs more.
We used the EIA's daily spot prices for both, which start on 20 May 1987 for Brent. WTI starts earlier, on 2 January 1986. Both series have a value on 8,430 days to 3 November 2026. We measured the gap on those days.
The median gap was $0.27 a barrel, while the mean was $2.26. The median is the middle day. The mean is the sum of all gaps divided by the number of days. Brent was above WTI on 4,327 days (51.3%), below on 4,101 days (48.6%), and level on 2.
That near-even split hides two periods. Through 2010, Brent was below WTI on 3,943 of 4,554 days (86.6%). From 2011 to 3 November 2026, it was below on 158 of 3,876 days (4.1%).
When did Brent overtake WTI?
Chart 1 shows the mean gap for each calendar year, in dollars a barrel. The 2026 bar covers 2 January to 3 November.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices; YX Insights calculation
The bars sit below zero in each year from 1987 to 2006, with the deepest at -$3.21 in 2004. The yearly mean was $0.16 in 2007, -$2.73 in 2008, -$0.22 in 2009, and $0.13 in 2010.
The break came in 2011. The yearly mean gap was $16.62 in 2011 and $17.61 in 2012. In all 16 years from 2011 to 2026, the mean has been above zero.
Brent was still below WTI on some days after 2011. It was below on 103 days in 2016 and on 11 days from 2 January to 3 November 2026.
Why was the gap so wide in 2011?
The EIA gave one reason in its review of 2011. WTI became dislocated from the global crude oil market because of transportation bottlenecks in the US Midwest, where oil could not be moved out fast enough. Crude oil production was rising fast from the Bakken Shale formation (a rock layer that produces oil) and Canadian oil sands.
The EIA says prices for the US inland benchmark WTI weakened relative to broadly traded coastal or imported grades such as Brent.
The daily gap peaked at $29.59 on 23 September 2011. The EIA reports a record Brent premium, the amount Brent cost above WTI, of almost $30 in September 2011.
After 2012, the yearly mean gap fell to $10.58 in 2013, $5.75 in 2014, and $3.71 in 2015.
What happened on 20 April 2020?
On 20 April 2020, the WTI spot price at Cushing was -$36.98 a barrel. The Brent spot price the same day was $17.36. The gap was $54.34, the widest of all 8,430 days.
Chart 2 shows both prices from 16 to 24 April 2020.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices
Brent stayed positive on every day shown. WTI was negative only on 20 April. By 21 April, Brent was $9.12 and WTI was $8.91.
Our guide to negative oil prices explains what happened at Cushing that day. The guide to contango and backwardation explains how futures prices for later months can sit above or below the spot price.
What has the gap done in 2026?
The mean gap was $3.58 in 2025. From 2 January to 3 November 2026, it was $9.99. Chart 3 shows the daily gap over that span.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices; YX Insights calculation
The monthly mean gap was $6.55 in January and $6.38 in February. It reached $17.66 in April, fell to $0.83 in June, and rose again to $17.31 in September and $21.86 in October.
The daily gap passed 2011's high of $29.59 on 8 days in 2026, from 25 September to 14 October. The widest was $37.62 on 2 October, when Brent was $135.51 and WTI was $97.89. Outside 20 April 2020, no other day in the series is wider.
On 3 November 2026, the last day in the data, Brent was $107.03 and WTI was $99.64. The gap was $7.39.
How do Brent and WTI compare?
Each line names the winner on one criterion.
Higher yearly mean since 2011: Brent, in each calendar year.
Higher yearly mean through 2006: WTI, in each calendar year.
Longer history in this data: WTI, from 2 January 1986 against 20 May 1987.
Negative spot price: WTI, on 20 April 2020 only.
Where it is priced: Brent in the North Sea region, WTI at Cushing, Oklahoma.
What the figures do not show
We measured spot prices, not futures prices (prices agreed today for delivery later). The two benchmarks have different delivery points, so the gap on a given day does not show what any one buyer paid.
We measured the gap only on days when both series have a value, so the 2011 mean rests on 209 days. The EIA data stop at 3 November 2026 because that was its latest figure when we retrieved the series on 11 November 2026. We state no cause for the 2026 gap, because we did not source one.
So which is higher, Brent or WTI?
Brent, on average, in every calendar year since 2011. WTI had the higher yearly mean in each year from 1987 to 2006. Between 2007 and 2010 the yearly mean gap stayed within $2.73 of zero.
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Common questions about Brent and WTI
Is Brent oil more expensive than WTI?
Brent has averaged higher than WTI in every calendar year since 2011. The mean gap, the average daily difference in dollars a barrel, was $3.58 in 2025 and $9.99 from 2 January to 3 November 2026. Before 2007, WTI had the higher yearly mean. Brent was below WTI on only 4.1% of days from 2011.
Why was Brent so much higher than WTI in 2011?
The EIA's review of 2011 points to transportation bottlenecks in the US Midwest. Crude oil production was rising fast from the Bakken Shale formation and Canadian oil sands. WTI weakened against coastal and imported crude. The daily gap peaked at $29.59 on 23 September 2011. The yearly mean gap was $16.62.
What is the difference between Brent and WTI?
Brent is a blended crude stream produced in the North Sea region. WTI is a crude stream produced in Texas and southern Oklahoma, traded at Cushing, Oklahoma. Both are marker grades, meaning other crude streams are priced against them. Brent averaged higher from 2011 to 2026, WTI from 1987 to 2006.
Did WTI go negative while Brent stayed positive?
Yes, on 20 April 2020. The EIA's WTI spot price at Cushing was -$36.98 a barrel, while its Brent spot price was $17.36. The gap of $54.34 is the widest in the 8,430 days with both prices. WTI was back to $8.91 the next day, 21 April.
What is the Brent-WTI spread?
The Brent-WTI spread is the Brent price minus the WTI price, in dollars a barrel. A positive number means Brent costs more. From 20 May 1987 to 3 November 2026, the median spread was $0.27 and the mean was $2.26. On 3 November 2026 it was $7.39.
DISCLAIMER: This article is intended for educational purposes only. Any information or analysis in this note does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Nothing in this note is intended to be investment advice, nor should it be relied upon to make investment decisions. Any opinions, analyses, or probabilities expressed in this note are those of the author as of the note's date of publication and are subject to change without notice.
