Crude Oil is trading at $70.10, down 2.45% today; Brent at $73.37. Last updated 7:08 PM ET.
Crude oil is the most actively traded commodity in the world. Two benchmark grades dominate price discovery: West Texas Intermediate (WTI), settled at Cushing, Oklahoma and traded on NYMEX, and Brent, a North Sea blend traded on ICE that prices roughly two-thirds of the world's seaborne crude. Spot prices reflect immediate physical-delivery contracts; the futures curve (1-month, 3-month, 12-month forward contracts) is what most ETFs and institutional traders actually transact. Demand is driven by transportation (~60%) — gasoline, diesel, jet fuel — plus petrochemicals, heating, and industrial uses; supply is concentrated in OPEC+ producers (Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE), US shale (Permian, Bakken), and a handful of large non-OPEC majors.
The most liquid US-listed direct-exposure ETF is USO (United States Oil Fund), which tracks near-month WTI futures. USL spreads exposure across 12 forward months to reduce contango drag; BNO tracks Brent; UCO provides 2x leverage. For energy-equity exposure, XLE (Energy Select Sector SPDR) is the largest broad basket; XOP focuses on pure-play E&P companies, and OIH covers oilfield services. Major US-listed integrated and E&P names include ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), EOG Resources (EOG), Occidental (OXY), and SLB on the services side. Crude prices move on OPEC+ production decisions, US inventory reports (EIA weekly), geopolitical risk in the Middle East and Russia, and global growth signals — and tend to inversely correlate with the US dollar.