Crude Oil Price Today: Brent at $106.36, WTI at $94.75 in Post-Market Trade on 14 October

Brent's observed intraday range was approximately $106.14-$107.15, while WTI traded around $94.51-$95.41 in the contract data used here.

What Happened to Brent and WTI Today? 

Oil markets were responding to renewed risks around shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and further military developments involving Iran, Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia. 

Reuters reported that two vessels had been struck in the Strait of Hormuz and that Iranian officials said different tactics had been introduced against ships Tehran considered to be violating its restrictions. 

At 0938 GMT, Reuters had Brent at $105.83 and WTI at $94.71. Prices had moved by more than $1 earlier in the trading day before giving back part of those gains. WTI had reached as high as $95.41 at that stage. 

An attack on an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco also kept attention on risks to energy infrastructure. 

At the same time, reported oil exports from the region had continued, limiting the immediate physical effect of the attacks. Expectations of additional Russian diesel supply were another factor being weighed by traders. 

The combination explains why crude prices remained volatile during the session without requiring a single event to account for every intraday movement.

What Is the Difference Between Brent and WTI? 

Brent is an international crude benchmark linked primarily to North Sea supply and is widely used to price physical oil moving across global markets. 

WTI is the principal US benchmark and is associated with crude delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma. 

Differences in geography, crude quality, transportation costs, storage conditions and regional supply-demand balances can cause the two benchmarks to trade at different prices. 

Using the post-market quotes above: 

Brent-WTI spread = $106.36 − $94.75 = $11.61 per barrel. 

That means Brent was trading at an indicative premium of about $11.61 per barrel to WTI at the captured prices.

Why Do Crude Prices Matter for India?

India's Import Bill 

India imports most of the crude oil it consumes. 

For unchanged import volumes and exchange rates, a higher dollar price per barrel increases the value of the country's crude-import bill. The eventual rupee cost also depends on USD/INR and the particular crude grades India purchases. 

Inflation 

Crude oil feeds into multiple cost chains. 

Changes in crude and petroleum-product prices can transmit through transportation fuels, freight, petrochemicals, packaging, industrial inputs and other energy-intensive activities. 

The magnitude and timing of the transmission depend on taxes, retail fuel pricing, refining economics and company-level contracts. 

Airlines and Logistics 

Aviation turbine fuel and diesel are major operating inputs for airlines and transport businesses. 

Changes in crude and refined-product benchmarks therefore affect fuel procurement costs. The final financial effect also depends on hedging, fuel-efficiency measures, pricing and other operating expenses. 

Paints, Chemicals and Manufacturing 

Several chemical, polymer, solvent and packaging inputs are linked directly or indirectly to petroleum feedstocks. 

Changes in crude prices can therefore alter raw-material costs and working-capital requirements, although the degree of pass-through differs substantially across products and companies. 

Refiners and Oil-Marketing Companies 

For refiners, crude is an input while petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other petroleum products are outputs. 

The relevant operating relationship is therefore not simply the crude price itself but the difference between crude-input costs and product realisations, together with inventory effects and the types of crude processed. 

Upstream Oil Producers 

For oil producers, realised revenue is linked to production volumes and the benchmark or contractual prices received for crude. 

Higher international benchmarks increase the gross value of a given volume before considering royalties, taxes, production costs, hedging and pricing formulas. 

Rupee and External Balance 

Oil imports require foreign currency. 

If the value of India's petroleum imports increases while other factors remain unchanged, the associated demand for dollars can increase and the merchandise trade balance can face a larger oil-import component. 

Currency movements themselves also affect the rupee cost of each imported barrel.