The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC Reference Basket, Tapis crude, Bonny Light, Urals oil, Isthmus, and Western Canadian Select (WCS) among others. Oil prices are determined by global supply and demand, rather than any country's domestic production level, although the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel increases oil prices.
Key Facts
| Subject | Price of oil |
| Category | Spot price of a barrel of benchmark crude oil |
| Reading time | 1 min · Advanced |
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