📅 Last updated: August 1, 2026 · Spot prices as of: July 27, 2026 · Source: U.S. EIA (Brent & WTI). Updated monthly.
Brent & WTI crude oil prices today
Brent crude: $91.82 ▲ 30.9% (1mo) · ▲ 32.6% (1yr)
WTI crude: $84.25 ▲ 19.8% (1mo) · ▲ 26.9% (1yr)
What’s shaping oil prices right now
Global crude prices are being shaped by a tug-of-war between OPEC+ supply increases and a softer demand outlook, with Brent near $92 and WTI near $84 reflecting both tight regional risk and a looser broader balance. OPEC+ has been gradually restoring output, adding about 188,000 bpd from August, which is easing supply concerns and pressuring the market. At the same time, the IEA and OPEC have both trimmed 2026 demand expectations, with global consumption growth slowing and some forecasts pointing to outright contraction. Geopolitical risk is still adding a risk premium, especially around the Middle East and any renewed disruption to Strait of Hormuz flows, while Russia sanctions remain a persistent source of uncertainty for exports and trade flows.
Where the world’s oil comes from
Crude is a single global market, so one barrel’s price moves the whole world — but it is pumped in a handful of places and shipped through a few narrow corridors. The map shows crude output by country, with the seaborne chokepoints (in red) whose disruption sends prices spiking far more than a localised conflict does.
Top 15 crude oil producers
| # | Country | Crude output (mb/d) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 13.2 |
| 2 | Russia | 10.1 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 9.0 |
| 4 | Canada | 4.9 |
| 5 | Iraq | 4.3 |
| 6 | China | 4.2 |
| 7 | Iran | 3.4 |
| 8 | Brazil | 3.4 |
| 9 | UAE | 3.3 |
| 10 | Kuwait | 2.7 |
| 11 | Mexico | 1.9 |
| 12 | Norway | 1.8 |
| 13 | Kazakhstan | 1.8 |
| 14 | Qatar | 1.8 |
| 15 | Nigeria | 1.4 |
The chokepoints that move oil prices
About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean — the single most important oil artery on Earth. The Strait of Malacca carries crude to East Asia, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal/SUMED link the Gulf to Europe. A threat to any of these moves prices far more than a strike that doesn’t touch oil infrastructure or transit — which is why markets price chokepoint risk so quickly.
For what this means at the pump, see our US gas prices by state and European fuel prices trackers.
