An oil benchmark is a crude oil market that acts as a reference point for the prices of oil drilled around the world. The two best known oil benchmarks are US Crude (otherwise known as WTI) or UK Crude (known as Brent Crude).
Beyond these two headline markets, there are dozens of oil benchmarks that are used around the world. They help facilitate oil trading by acting as a guideline for the different varieties and grades of oil that are produced.
Different oil benchmarks will trade at different prices, according to the lightness and sweetness of the oil they represent. They will, however, tend to move in parallel – so if Brent Crude is moving up, chances are WTI will be up too.
Learn more about how to trade oil.