Crude Oil Price

Crude Oil: 84.4 USD/bbl (World, Aug 2026). Source: World Bank.

Price Chart

Notable price events

  • COVID-19 oil price collapse — On April 20, 2020, US crude oil futures closed at -$37.63 a barrel - the first negative price in the contract's history. COVID-19 lockdowns had crushed fuel demand so fast that storage tanks at the delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma neared capacity, and traders holding contracts requiring physical delivery paid buyers to take the oil off their hands rather than find somewhere to put it.
Price data table

Recent prices

PeriodPrice (USD/bbl)Change
Aug 202684.4+5.8%
Jul 202679.8-2.3%
Jun 202681.7-18.6%
May 2026100.4-3.4%
Apr 2026103.9+8.7%
Mar 202695.6+40.6%
Feb 202668+6.8%
Jan 202663.7+4.6%
Dec 202560.9-2.2%
Nov 202562.3-1.1%
Oct 202563-5.3%
Sep 202566.5-0.3%

Annual averages

YearAverage (USD/bbl)Change
2026 (year to date)84.69+25.6%
202567.42-14.4%
202478.73-2.5%
202380.77-16.8%
202297.1+40.6%
202169.08+67.5%
202041.25-32.8%
201961.42-10.2%
201868.36+29.4%
201752.82+23.4%
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About Crude Oil

The world benchmark for fuel costs — diesel and gasoline for farm machinery are refined from it, and it indirectly drives fertilizer prices too, since natural gas (used to make nitrogen fertilizer) tends to move with broader energy markets. Tracked here as the average of Brent, Dubai and WTI, the three main global crude benchmarks. Prices are driven by OPEC+ production decisions, geopolitical supply disruptions, and global demand.

Latest World price (2026-08): +4% vs. the 5-year average, +22% vs. the 10-year average, +27% vs. a year ago.

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