Brent, WTI and Dubai are distinct crude-oil benchmark series. In this site's saved World Bank monthly data for September 2026, Brent was 116.8, WTI 96.9 and Dubai 93.3 dollars per barrel. A difference between them is a price spread, not proof of its cause.
Three separately named prices
This site’s commodity board preserves the World Bank’s three separate monthly crude-oil series. All three use dollars per barrel, so subtracting their observations for the same month produces a dollar-per-barrel spread.
| Saved series | September 2026 monthly average |
|---|---|
| Brent | 116.8 $/bbl |
| WTI | 96.9 $/bbl |
| Dubai | 93.3 $/bbl |
These observations are monthly averages, not executable offers, daily closing prices or interchangeable futures contracts. For a particular contract or physical cargo, consult its own specification rather than treating this table as a delivery specification.
Quality matters, but it is not a causal diagnosis
The EIA’s crude-quality explainer identifies density and sulfur content as important characteristics. Higher API gravity means lighter, lower-density crude. Low sulfur is called sweet; high sulfur is called sour.
EIA explains that gasoline and diesel can generally be produced more easily and cheaply from light, sweet crude than from heavy, sour crude. That is a general refining relationship, not evidence that quality caused any particular monthly spread in this dataset. This guide does not assign exact API grades or delivery locations from a saved price array that does not contain those definitions.
What the complete saved record shows
The saved extract has 321 monthly observations from January 2000 through September 2026 for each of these three series. Define the Brent–WTI spread as Brent minus WTI, using observations from the same month.
- WTI exceeds Brent in 109 of those 321 months. Brent is therefore not always the higher price.
- The largest Brent–WTI spread in that saved interval is 25.3 dollars per barrel in September 2011.
- In September 2026, the spread is 19.9 dollars per barrel: 116.8 minus 96.9.
These are calculations over the full saved interval, not claims about observations before January 2000 or after September 2026. The calculation compares the two monthly averages; it cannot reveal the largest intraday spread.
Brent and Dubai: label the maximum correctly
The largest Brent–Dubai spread in the saved interval is 27.7 dollars per barrel in April 2026, calculated from 120.4 minus 92.7. September 2026’s spread is 23.5 dollars, from 116.8 minus 93.3. September is not the maximum.
This distinction matters when writing a headline. “The gap is large” and “the gap is a record” are different claims. A record claim needs a defined series, comparison method and time window, as well as a check against every observation in that window.
Choose the comparison that answers your question
For a change over time, compare the same named series with itself. For a benchmark spread, compare two series in the same month and unit. Do not splice Brent into a WTI chart without labelling the change.
A dollar spread and a percentage premium answer different questions. September’s Brent–WTI gap is 19.9 dollars per barrel. Relative to WTI’s 96.9, Brent’s premium is about 20.5%. Relative to Brent, the same dollar gap is a different percentage because the denominator changes. The percent-change calculator makes that denominator explicit.
A spread does not isolate freight, refinery economics, supply disruptions or contract terms. To explain a cause, use evidence that specifically analyses that event. Neither a chart nor the general EIA quality explanation proves the cause of the 2026 observations.
Keep monthly and transaction comparisons separate
A monthly series is useful for historical context. A buyer needs a dated offer and the relevant contract terms; a futures trader needs the exchange contract and delivery month. Neither can substitute the table above for those details.
The Pink Sheet guide explains this site’s saved source and attribution. The monthly-average guide explains why averages conceal the path inside a month, while the units guide covers barrel conversion limits.
Saved numerical source
Historical numbers above refer to the saved World Bank-derived snapshot, retrieved 2026-10-16T00:01:08.577Z. The JSON retains the provider request or workbook URL and observation dates. It is the saved normalized dataset, not a claim of a fresh download or the provider’s original response bytes.
Questions readers ask
- Which oil price is 'the' oil price?
- There is no single price in these data: the workbook records Brent, WTI and Dubai separately. Name the benchmark, unit and month when quoting a figure.
- Is Brent always more expensive than WTI?
- No. In World Bank monthly averages WTI was above Brent in 109 of the months from January 2000 to September 2026, mostly before 2011. Since 2011 Brent has usually been higher.
- What does API gravity mean?
- It is a measure of how light a crude is. Higher API gravity means lower density. EIA explains that light, low-sulfur crude can generally be processed more easily into gasoline and diesel; quality alone does not determine a price spread.