Oil, also known as black gold, is now one of the most important and most traded commodities in the world. It powers global transport and, besides fuels, is also used in the production of today’s ubiquitous plastics and other synthetic materials, and even cosmetics.
Types of oil
Although it may not seem so at first glance, oil comes in many different types. The differences are caused by the location where this commodity is extracted. The basic classification is by density, ranging from light to heavy. According to sulphur content, it is divided into “sweet” or “sour” oil. It is also important to add that oil is measured strictly in barrels (abbreviated as bbl). One barrel corresponds to approximately 159 litres, or 42 US gallons.
The most important global oil types:
- WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is a light oil originating from Texas in the United States.
- Brent Crude is a light oil from the North Sea. This type includes a total of 15 oil varieties.
- OPEC Reference Basket is a group of several oil types from OPEC countries (including, for example, Arab Light from Saudi Arabia or Fateh from the United Arab Emirates). It is a medium-heavy oil.
The price of individual types differs on exchanges depending on how far the oil must be transported and how “sour” it is. Given current standards, more sour oil requires more expensive processing, so its price is usually lower.
Current Brent oil price
| 1 bbl = 79.34 GBP | 1 bbl = 107.94 USD |
In the chart above, you can see the current Brent oil price.
Price change
| 24h | 3.58 % | Week | -1.76 % |
| Month | 8.63 % | Year | 77.39 % |
Historical prices
| bbl | |
|---|---|
| May 12, 2026 | 79.34 GBP 107.94 USD |
| May 11, 2026 | 76.28 GBP 103.78 USD |
| May 08, 2026 | 74.64 GBP 101.55 USD |
| May 07, 2026 | 75.86 GBP 103.20 USD |
| May 06, 2026 | 74.83 GBP 101.80 USD |
| May 05, 2026 | 81.29 GBP 110.59 USD |
| May 04, 2026 | 83.37 GBP 113.42 USD |
| May 01, 2026 | 79.92 GBP 108.72 USD |
| Apr 30, 2026 | 81.07 GBP 110.29 USD |
| Apr 29, 2026 | 85.41 GBP 116.19 USD |
| Apr 28, 2026 | 80.92 GBP 110.09 USD |
| Apr 27, 2026 | 79.15 GBP 107.68 USD |
| Apr 26, 2026 | 76.30 GBP 103.80 USD |
| Apr 24, 2026 | 77.83 GBP 105.88 USD |
| Apr 23, 2026 | 78.40 GBP 106.65 USD |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 73.44 GBP 99.91 USD |
| Apr 21, 2026 | 72.39 GBP 98.49 USD |
| Apr 20, 2026 | 69.13 GBP 94.05 USD |
| Apr 19, 2026 | 69.91 GBP 95.10 USD |
| Apr 17, 2026 | 67.53 GBP 91.87 USD |
WTI oil price
| 1 bbl = 75.33 GBP | 1 bbl = 102.48 USD |
Price change
| 24h | 4.49 % | Week | 0.2 % |
| Month | 3.43 % | Year | 78.47 % |
Historical prices
| bbl | |
|---|---|
| May 12, 2026 | 75.33 GBP 102.48 USD |
| May 11, 2026 | 72.26 GBP 98.30 USD |
| May 08, 2026 | 70.50 GBP 95.91 USD |
| May 07, 2026 | 71.79 GBP 97.66 USD |
| May 06, 2026 | 70.79 GBP 96.30 USD |
| May 05, 2026 | 75.23 GBP 102.35 USD |
| May 04, 2026 | 77.29 GBP 105.14 USD |
| May 01, 2026 | 75.33 GBP 102.48 USD |
| Apr 30, 2026 | 77.50 GBP 105.44 USD |
| Apr 29, 2026 | 80.12 GBP 109.00 USD |
| Apr 28, 2026 | 73.16 GBP 99.53 USD |
| Apr 27, 2026 | 70.96 GBP 96.53 USD |
| Apr 26, 2026 | 70.48 GBP 95.89 USD |
| Apr 24, 2026 | 69.74 GBP 94.88 USD |
| Apr 23, 2026 | 71.14 GBP 96.79 USD |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 68.27 GBP 92.87 USD |
| Apr 21, 2026 | 65.84 GBP 89.56 USD |
| Apr 20, 2026 | 58.96 GBP 80.21 USD |
| Apr 19, 2026 | 64.69 GBP 88.01 USD |
| Apr 17, 2026 | 62.90 GBP 85.57 USD |
Trading with contracts
Oil can be traded using contracts. Naturally, it is not possible to buy a barrel of oil directly from a processor. Commodities are traded indirectly, on exchanges. Typically, this is a contract between a trader and an exchange. We will now look at examples of such contracts.
Contract for difference (CFD)
CFD is a financial derivative, short for contract for difference. Put simply, it is an agreement between two parties, usually a broker and a trader. After a certain period of time, the difference between the value stated in the contract and the actual oil price is settled.
Among the best-known CFDs is UKOIL, which is a contract for Brent oil. At the beginning of June 2020, it was trading at approximately USD 37 per barrel. Another important contract is for American WTI oil, abbreviated as USOIL. At the same time, it was trading at approximately USD 35 per barrel. Compared with European oil, American oil is usually priced lower.
Futures contracts
If you trade futures contracts, you are trading oil at a predetermined price at a specific point in time. These are trades in larger “packages” of the given commodity. In the United States, the Crude Oil Futures Contract (abbreviation CL), with a volume of 1,000 barrels of oil, and the E-Mini Crude Oil Futures Contract (abbreviation QM), with a smaller volume of 500 barrels, are very popular.
These contracts are traded, for example, on the American commodities exchange NYMEX, based in New York. The minimum price movement for a CL contract is USD 0.01 and for QM it is USD 0.025. This smallest unit of movement is called a “tick”. In this type of trading, profit or loss is measured using these “ticks”.
Oil ETFs
Another way to trade oil is through ETFs (so-called exchange traded funds). The trade works like a standard share purchase, because the trader does not buy the oil itself, but invests in funds tradable on an exchange. These funds may invest either directly in oil or in companies focused on oil extraction.
Among the best-known oil ETFs today are:
- United States Oil Fund (USO), which focuses on light and “sweet” oil. It is traded at the spot price of oil.
- Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) trades shares in American oil companies.
- ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) trades futures contracts on light American WTI oil.
Shares in oil companies
If you do not want to trade oil through contracts, investing in shares of oil companies is another option. The best-known and most important include:
- Chevron (CVX) is an American company founded in 1879 and is one of the oldest companies in the field of oil extraction and processing. Its share price is currently at USD 91.
- Total (TOT) is a French conglomerate founded in 1924 and focused on oil processing. In June 2020, the price of one share was approximately USD 37.
- Exxon Mobil (XOM) comes from Texas and processes and extracts oil as well as natural gas. Its shares currently cost USD 45.
- BP (BP) originated in the United Kingdom and was founded in 1909. It focuses on oil and natural gas and also operates a network of filling stations. You will now pay USD 23 per share.
- Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) is one of the best-known companies in Europe and comes from the Netherlands. In addition to oil processing and distribution, it also operates an extensive network of filling stations. The price per share is around USD 32.
- Gazprom PAO (OGZPY) is the only Eastern European representative on this list. It is a giant Russian company engaged in the extraction and distribution of oil and natural gas. It trades at approximately USD 5 per share.
Prices are valid as of the beginning of June 2020 on the American NYSE exchange.
Oil crashes and peaks
The biggest crash in history
Like many other commodities, oil has not escaped major fluctuations throughout history. Let us briefly look at the biggest crashes and, conversely, the highest peaks oil has reached.
For an example of the biggest oil crash, we do not need to go far back into the past. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the American oil market collapsed. Its price even fell into negative territory for one day, specifically on 20 April 2020.
At that time, the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia was reaching its peak. Russia refused to cut production, and the price inevitably kept falling. The American market found the bottom. The price went negative because the market was flooded with cheap oil. There was no one to take American oil. For processors, it is economically unthinkable to stop production.
The traded American oil was linked to an obligation to physically take delivery of the purchased oil, which was not profitable for companies. Prices have since stabilised.
The highest oil price peak
By contrast, the highest price in history was reached by a barrel of oil in 2008. In July of that year, it cost USD 147. Several major oil suppliers, such as Nigeria, experienced supply disruptions. However, due to the outbreak of the economic crisis and therefore lower demand, the price then fell within half a year to USD 32 in December of the same year.
Where to trade oil
Where can you trade oil? That depends on which investment method you choose.
A very simple option is to open an account with a CFD broker and speculate on the oil price without owning it directly. We can recommend broker XTB (XTB review), and you can also try everything on a free demo account 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
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Alternatively, you can buy shares in specific oil companies or ETFs, which can be found on major exchanges such as the NYSE or NASDAQ. Of course, most of them can also be bought or sold through online brokers.
Futures contracts can be traded on commodities exchanges, where the trader has their broker. One of the largest examples is the already mentioned NYMEX exchange based in New York.