WTI

WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is a light, sweet crude oil benchmark priced at Cushing, Oklahoma, and the main reference for crude oil traded in the United States.

WTI is a light, sweet crude oil that is priced and physically delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma, an inland storage and pipeline hub without direct port access. That inland location, unusual for a global oil benchmark, means WTI’s price can diverge from seaborne benchmarks like Dated Brent when pipeline capacity out of Cushing is constrained, since oil can back up there even while coastal prices reflect a tighter market.

WTI is the underlying grade for the main crude oil futures contract traded in the United States, and it remains the primary reference price for crude produced and consumed domestically. Its spread to Dated Brent is one of the most closely watched numbers in the oil market, since it reflects the relative balance of supply between North America and the rest of the world.