Historical Oil Prices
Access comprehensive historical price data for crude oil, natural gas, and commodities. Daily, weekly, and monthly intervals available via API.
Current Prices & YoY Performance
12-Month Price Statistics
| Commodity | Current | 12-Mo High | 12-Mo Low | 12-Mo Avg | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTI Crude Oil | $88.47 | $88.47 | $57.95 | $65.06 | +28.31% |
| Brent Crude | $93.17 | $93.17 | $61.73 | $68.73 | +28.07% |
| Natural Gas | $3.09 | $4.46 | $2.90 | $3.56 | -20.97% |
| Gold | $5129.69 | $5129.69 | $3050.16 | $3902.56 | +68.18% |
WTI 12-Month Price History
Full analysisMajor Oil Price Events
Arab Oil Embargo
OPEC embargo quadrupled crude oil prices from $3 to $12 per barrel, triggering the first global energy crisis
Gulf War
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait caused oil prices to double from $17 to $36 per barrel in three months
Peak & Financial Crisis
WTI hit all-time high of $147.27 in July, then crashed to $32 by December during the global financial crisis
US Shale Boom
US shale oil production surge caused Brent to fall from $115 to $46 per barrel in six months
COVID-19 Crash
WTI briefly went negative (-$37.63) due to storage crisis and demand collapse during pandemic lockdowns
Russia-Ukraine War
Brent spiked to $139 on supply fears and sanctions on Russian oil exports
OPEC+ Production Cuts
Saudi Arabia voluntary cuts of 1M bpd supported prices amid global demand uncertainty
China Demand Slowdown
Slower Chinese economic recovery and EV adoption growth pressured crude oil demand forecasts
Iran War & Strait of Hormuz Crisis
US-Israel strikes on Iran disrupted Strait of Hormuz shipping. Brent surged to $119 on March 8, then crashed 32% to $81 the next day — the largest single-day reversal in oil price history
Access Historical Data via API
Get programmatic access to historical prices for backtesting, analytics, or research. RESTful JSON API with flexible date ranges and intervals.
GET /v1/prices/historical?by_code=WTI_USD&interval=monthlyDaily Prices
Granular day-by-day historical data
Weekly Averages
Smoothed weekly price averages
Monthly Summary
Long-term trend analysis
How to Use Historical Oil Price Data
Backtesting Trading Strategies
Test algorithmic trading models against years of historical crude oil and natural gas price data. Validate strategies across different market conditions — bull runs, crashes, and range-bound periods.
Use daily interval data for short-term strategies, monthly for long-term trend models.
Price Forecasting & Analysis
Build forecasting models using historical WTI and Brent crude price series. Apply time-series analysis, machine learning, or econometric models to predict future price movements.
Monthly averages smooth noise for ARIMA and regression models.
Risk Management & Hedging
Calculate Value at Risk (VaR), volatility metrics, and correlation analysis between WTI and Brent spreads. Energy companies use historical price distributions to size hedging positions and set risk limits.
Daily data provides the granularity needed for volatility calculations.
Academic & Market Research
Access structured historical data for academic papers, market reports, and economic research. Study correlations between oil prices and macroeconomic indicators like GDP, inflation, and currency movements.
Combine with US rig count data and drilling intelligence for supply-side analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest oil price in history?
The highest oil price in history was $147.27 per barrel for WTI crude in July 2008, driven by peak oil fears and speculation. Brent crude reached $139.13 in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
What was the lowest oil price ever recorded?
WTI crude oil went negative for the first time in history on April 20, 2020, reaching -$37.63 per barrel due to a storage crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a one-day anomaly caused by futures contract expiration mechanics.
How can I access historical oil price data via API?
OilPriceAPI provides REST API access to historical oil prices. Use the /v1/prices/historical endpoint with parameters for commodity (WTI, Brent), date range, and interval (daily, weekly, monthly). Start with 7-day free trial, then upgrade for unlimited access.
What intervals are available for historical oil data?
Historical oil price data is available in multiple intervals: daily prices (most granular), weekly averages, monthly averages, and yearly summaries. Each interval serves different analysis needs from day trading to long-term trend analysis.
What's the difference between WTI and Brent historical prices?
WTI (West Texas Intermediate) and Brent crude are both oil benchmarks but trade at different prices. WTI is the US benchmark priced at Cushing, Oklahoma, while Brent is the international benchmark from the North Sea. Historically, Brent trades $2-5 higher than WTI, though this spread varies. See our WTI vs Brent live comparison for current spread data.
How far back does the historical price data go?
OilPriceAPI provides historical price data spanning 20+ years for major crude oil benchmarks like WTI and Brent. Coverage varies by commodity — natural gas, coal, and precious metals have 10+ years of data. New commodities like Dutch TTF gas have data from their inception.
Can I download historical oil prices as CSV?
Yes. The API returns JSON by default, which you can easily convert to CSV in Python, JavaScript, or any programming language. Use the /v1/prices/historical endpoint with date range parameters to fetch exactly the data you need. Our API documentation includes code examples for CSV export.
What commodities have historical price data available?
Historical data is available for 60+ commodities including crude oil benchmarks (WTI, Brent, Urals, Dubai, OPEC Basket), natural gas (Henry Hub, Dutch TTF, JKM LNG), coal, precious metals, refined products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel), and marine fuels (VLSFO, HSFO).