Crude Oil Price Today: Brent at $114.25, WTI at $100.74 After Indian Market Close on October 26

The percentage changes are calculated against Friday's comparable December-contract settlements of $116.72 for Brent and $103.27 for WTI. 

A consistent post-Indian-market intraday high/low pair was not available from the same late-session source, so high and low figures have not been combined from separate feeds.

What Happened to Brent and WTI Today? 

Crude prices pulled back after ending the previous week near six-month highs. 

Reuters reported that market participants were assessing efforts to reduce hostilities between the United States and Iran. Qatari mediators had travelled to Tehran as part of de-escalation efforts coordinated with the United States. 

At the same time, supply-security concerns had not disappeared. Continuing attacks affecting Saudi Arabia remained in focus after disruptions and threats involving infrastructure in the world's largest crude-exporting country. 

Friday's rally had taken Brent's weekly gain to about 6%, while WTI finished the week around 2.3% higher, according to Reuters. 

The October 26 movement therefore reflected a partial retracement of the previous session's rise while geopolitical and physical-supply risks remained part of the pricing environment. 

What Is the Difference Between Brent and WTI? 

Brent and WTI are two of the world's primary crude-oil benchmarks. 

Brent is the principal international benchmark used in pricing a large share of internationally traded crude. 

WTI, or West Texas Intermediate, is the main US crude benchmark and is associated with delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma. 

Using comparable December 2026 contracts at the late-session snapshot: 

$114.25 − $100.74 = $13.51 per barrel 

Brent was therefore trading at a premium of approximately $13.51 per barrel to WTI. 

The spread can change because the two benchmarks have different delivery locations, transportation constraints, regional supply-demand balances and contract structures. 

Why Do Crude Prices Matter for India? 

India's Import Bill 

India imports most of the crude oil it consumes. 

A change in the dollar price of crude therefore changes the value of a fixed volume of imported oil, provided the quantity imported and USD/INR exchange rate remain unchanged. 

For example, a $1-per-barrel change applied to the same import volume changes the dollar value of that crude requirement by $1 multiplied by the number of barrels imported. 

Inflation 

Crude oil is an input into fuels, petrochemicals and several industrial supply chains. 

Changes in crude costs can be transmitted through transportation, freight, aviation fuel, petrochemical feedstocks and manufacturing inputs. 

The degree and timing of pass-through in India also depend on taxes, refining economics, product-price policies and currency movements. 

Airlines and Logistics 

Fuel represents a material operating cost for airlines and transport businesses. 

A change in crude prices can influence aviation turbine fuel and other transport-fuel costs, although the actual effect depends on refinery pricing, taxation, hedging and the timing of fuel-price revisions. 

Paints, Chemicals and Manufacturing 

A range of chemicals, solvents, polymers and other industrial materials are linked directly or indirectly to petroleum feedstocks. 

Changes in crude and refined-product prices can therefore alter raw-material costs and working-capital requirements for companies using these inputs. 

The effect varies by product mix, contractual pricing arrangements and the ability to pass through input-cost changes. 

Refiners and Oil-Marketing Companies 

Refiners purchase crude and convert it into products such as petrol, diesel, LPG and aviation fuel. 

Their economics depend not simply on the absolute crude price but on the difference between crude-input costs and the value of refined products, often described through refining margins. 

For oil-marketing companies, domestic product prices, inventory effects, taxes and international product benchmarks also influence the financial impact. 

Upstream Oil Producers 

Companies producing crude generally have revenue that is linked, directly or indirectly, to international oil benchmarks. 

A change in benchmark prices therefore changes the gross value of a given quantity of production, while realised revenue also depends on production volumes, quality differentials, taxes, royalties and contractual terms. 

Rupee and External Balance 

Because crude imports are largely invoiced in US dollars, changes in the oil import bill affect India's demand for foreign currency. 

Higher dollar-denominated import costs, if sustained with volumes unchanged, increase the amount of foreign exchange required for oil imports and can affect the merchandise trade and current-account balances. 

Currency movements can work in the opposite direction or amplify the change. A stronger or weaker rupee changes the domestic-currency cost of the same dollar-priced barrel.