Oil Curve Tracker

Futures: settlement prices as of 11 Nov 2026 (Brent), 11 Nov 2026 (WTI). Spot: EIA as of 03 Nov 2026.

Brent M1 · Jan-27

91.80$/bbl

▲ +0.31 vs 10 Nov

11 Nov 2026

Price of the nearest Brent futures contract, for delivery in January 2027. The change compares the same contract with its previous close.

WTI M1 · Dec-26

85.66$/bbl

▼ -0.38 vs 10 Nov

11 Nov 2026

Price of the nearest WTI futures contract, for delivery in December 2026. The change compares the same contract with its previous close.

Brent M1-M12

+13.21$/bbl

backwardation

11 Nov 2026

Oil for Jan-27 delivery costs 13.21 $/bbl more than for Dec-27. That's backwardation: buyers pay up for oil now, a sign of tight supply today.

WTI M1-M2

+1.13$/bbl

higher than 94.2% of trading days, 2010-24

11 Nov 2026

WTI front month minus the next month. Today's spread is higher than 94.2% of trading days, 2010-24: historically tight: oil for this month is in unusually high demand.

Brent-WTI spot

+7.39$/bbl

▲ +0.06 vs 02 Nov

03 Nov 2026

Physical Brent (seaborne crude) minus WTI (US inland crude at Cushing). Usually a few dollars, roughly the cost of getting US crude to export markets; wider means seaborne crude is scarcer. EIA publishes a few days late.

Dated Brent vs future

+3.43$/bbl

spot above future

03 Nov 2026

Physical Brent cargoes minus the nearest Brent future, on the latest date both have. Positive: buyers are paying a premium to get physical barrels quickly.

Figure 1

Both curves in backwardation; Brent steeper at +13.21 $/bbl over 12 months

Futures price by delivery month, $/bbl: latest (solid) vs the same contracts one month earlier (dashed)

Hover for exact values; drag to zoom in, double-click to reset. Static version

Source: NYMEX via Yahoo Finance. Data as of 11 Nov 2026 (Brent), 11 Nov 2026 (WTI).

Figure 2

Brent-WTI spot spread down 30.23 $/bbl over the past month, to +7.39

Daily Brent (Dated, FOB) minus WTI (Cushing) spot price, $/bbl

Hover for exact values; drag to zoom in, double-click to reset. Static version

Source: EIA. Data as of 03 Nov 2026.

Figure 3

Six-month spreads: Brent down on the month, WTI little changed on the month

Daily spread between today's M1 and M6 contracts, held fixed (Brent Jan-27 minus Jun-27; WTI Dec-26 minus May-27), $/bbl

Hover for exact values; drag to zoom in, double-click to reset. Static version

Source: NYMEX via Yahoo Finance. Data as of 11 Nov 2026 (Brent), 11 Nov 2026 (WTI).

Figure 4

WTI M1-M2 at +1.13 $/bbl: higher than 94.2% of trading days, 2010-24

Number of days at each WTI M1-M2 spread, Jan-10 to Apr-24 (3,598 days); gold line = latest value

Hover for exact values; drag to zoom in, double-click to reset. Static version

Note: 18 days below -4.00 $/bbl not shown (lowest -58.06 on 20 Apr 2020).

Source: EIA (history to 05 Apr 2024), NYMEX via Yahoo Finance (latest, 11 Nov 2026).

Figure 5

Brent-WTI front-month spread up over the year, to +6.14 $/bbl from +4.12

Continuous front-month futures, $/bbl (top); Brent minus WTI, $/bbl (bottom)

Hover for exact values; drag to zoom in, double-click to reset. Static version

Note: Continuous front-month series switch to the next contract on roll days, so a sudden jump on those days isn't a real price move.

Source: NYMEX via Yahoo Finance (BZ=F, CL=F). Data as of 11 Nov 2026.

Commentary

Numbers as of 03 Nov 2026, older than the latest data on this page: check the dates above

03/11/2026

Both crude curves remain in steep backwardation. Brent's front spread (January minus February 2027) was +$3.07 on 2 November, and the full twelve-month slope (January 2027 minus December 2027) was +$19.79. WTI is less steep: +$1.45 for December 2026 minus January 2027 and +$16.13 across twelve months on 3 November (intraday prices).

The front of the Brent curve eased over the last two trading days. Comparing the same two contracts, January minus February 2027 narrowed from +$3.87 on 30 October (113.43 − 109.56) to +$3.07 on 2 November (104.77 − 101.70). The fixed-contract chart tells the same story: the Brent and WTI six-month spreads both peaked in late October and have come off since, Brent from around $15 to +$11.71.

Physical crude is still at a premium. On 27 October, Dated Brent was $9.22 above the nearest Brent future (123.10 − 113.88), and $19.73 above WTI spot (123.10 − 103.37), several times its usual gap. WTI's M1–M2 spread sits at the 96th percentile of its 2010–2024 history.

Written by hand, so it changes only when I update it; the numbers and charts update every weekday.

Notes on method

Brent and WTI curves can come from different days: each uses its latest day with all 12 contracts priced.
Futures prices are settlements only: a run before 22:00 UK time uses the previous trading day's settlement.
EIA spot prices run a few days behind; the WTI percentile deliberately compares today with 2010-2024.

All numbers

Measure	Value	Reading	Data date	Working
Brent M1-M2	+1.99	backwardation	11 Nov 2026	2027-01 minus 2027-02
Brent M1-M6	+7.02	backwardation	11 Nov 2026	2027-01 minus 2027-06
Brent M1-M12	+13.21	backwardation	11 Nov 2026	2027-01 minus 2027-12
WTI M1-M2	+1.13	backwardation	11 Nov 2026	2026-12 minus 2027-01
WTI M1-M6	+5.78	backwardation	11 Nov 2026	2026-12 minus 2027-05
WTI M1-M12	+11.05	backwardation	11 Nov 2026	2026-12 minus 2027-11
Brent-WTI spot spread (EIA)	+7.39	location spread	03 Nov 2026	Brent 107.03 minus WTI 99.64
Dated Brent minus front-month future	+3.43	spot above future	03 Nov 2026 (latest date both sources have)	EIA 107.03 minus Yahoo BZ=F 103.60
Dated Brent minus front-month future, 2-year average	+2.94	today +3.43 vs 2-year average +2.94	04 Nov 2024 to 03 Nov 2026	mean of 495 trading days with both EIA and Yahoo prices
WTI M1-M2 percentile vs EIA history	94.2%	higher than 94.2% of trading days, 2010-24	today 11 Nov 2026; history 04 Jan 2010 to 05 Apr 2024	+1.13 is higher than 3,390 of 3,598 trading days