WTI-Brent spread definition

The WTI-Brent spread is the price difference between West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude benchmark, and Brent, the international benchmark. It is found by subtracting one benchmark's price from the other, and it shows how the two grades are valued relative to each other.

The spread widens or narrows with shifts in regional supply, demand, transport costs, and pipeline and export capacity. Brent often trades at a premium to WTI, which means the spread is usually a positive figure when measured as Brent minus WTI.

This spread should not be mistaken for the bid-ask spread, which is the gap between buying and selling prices on a single instrument. The WTI-Brent spread instead compares two separate crude benchmarks.

WTI-Brent spread Example

Say Brent is quoted at 82.00 per barrel and WTI at 78.00 per barrel. The WTI-Brent spread is the gap between the two benchmarks.

82.00 (Brent) minus 78.00 (WTI) = 4.00 spread