West Texas Intermediate - WTI
Categories: Derivatives, Trading, International
West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, is a type of crude oil that is refined and consumed in North America. Compared to Brent crude oil and Dubai crude oil, WTI crude oil is considered top quality, because it’s lighter and easier to refine, mostly because it’s lower sulfur content upon extraction. Some refer to this lower sulfur content as making the crude oil relatively “sweet,” but here at Shmoop we prefer to not confuse oils in our kitchens with crude oils.
In the market, WTI crude is a commodity of the New York Mercantile Exchange’s oil futures contracts. WTI oil has the international spotlight: it’s a benchmark for pricies other crude oils all over the world. Brent crude is also used as an international benchmark for crude oil prices, too. Think: Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera (in the '90s, of course): they’re similar, but also very different, competitive with each other, and very famous. A crude analogy, but, uh...just go with it.