WTI Crude Oil Price Today
West Texas Intermediate benchmark — live price, 30-day chart, and market analysis. 서부 텍사스 원유(WTI) 실시간 시세.
30-Day Price Chart
WTI has traded between $85.91 and $112.25 over the past 30 trading days.
What is WTI?
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a grade of crude oil used as a major benchmark for oil pricing in the Americas. It is produced primarily in the Permian Basin across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, and is delivered at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub — the official pricing point for the NYMEX crude oil futures contract. WTI is classified as light (low density) and sweet (low sulfur content, below 0.5%), which makes it ideal for refining into gasoline and diesel. These qualities historically earned WTI a premium over most other benchmarks, though since the U.S. shale boom and lifting of the crude export ban in 2015, WTI has often traded at a discount to Brent. Traders, refineries, and sovereign funds worldwide watch the WTI price as a real-time pulse of North American energy markets and broader global demand.
WTI 원유란?
WTI(West Texas Intermediate, 서부 텍사스 원유)는 미국 텍사스·뉴멕시코·오클라호마 지역에서 생산되는 경질 저유황 원유로, 북미 원유 시세의 대표적인 벤치마크입니다. 오클라호마주 쿠싱(Cushing)에서 인도되며 NYMEX 원유 선물의 기초자산으로 사용됩니다. 황 함유량이 낮아 정제 효율이 높고, 휘발유와 경유 생산에 유리하다는 장점이 있습니다. 2015년 미국의 원유 수출 금지 해제 이후 WTI는 글로벌 시장에서도 거래가 활발해져, 브렌트유와 함께 국제 유가 흐름을 가늠하는 핵심 지표로 자리잡았습니다.
WTI vs Brent — What's the Difference?
While both are light sweet crudes, Brent is drawn from North Sea oilfields between the UK and Norway, whereas WTI is landlocked in the US midcontinent. Brent is easier to ship globally by tanker, so it more directly reflects international demand; WTI pricing can be dragged down by US pipeline bottlenecks and Cushing storage levels. The WTI-Brent spread currently sits near $4.48 per barrel, and widens when US production surges or when Middle East tensions push Brent higher.
What Affects the WTI Price?
- OPEC+ production decisions — Saudi Arabia and Russia coordinate supply cuts or increases that ripple through global pricing within hours.
- US crude inventories — Weekly EIA and API reports on Cushing stockpiles drive intraday moves. A surprise draw usually lifts WTI; a build pushes it lower.
- US dollar strength — Because oil is priced in USD, a stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for foreign buyers and typically weighs on WTI.
- Geopolitics — Wars in the Middle East, sanctions on Iran and Russia, and Red Sea shipping disruptions all inject risk premium into WTI futures.
- Shale economics — US rig counts and break-even costs in the Permian Basin set a soft floor beneath WTI prices.
WTI 가격 결정 요인
WTI 가격은 OPEC+ 감산 합의, 미국 원유 재고 주간 발표(EIA), 달러 강세, 중동·우크라이나 지정학 리스크, 그리고 미국 셰일 생산량 변동에 민감하게 반응합니다. 특히 이란 제재, 러시아산 원유 상한제, 호르무즈 해협의 긴장, OPEC의 감산 연장 결정은 단기적으로 유가 전망을 크게 흔드는 핵심 변수입니다.