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Oil Prices in 2021: WTI & Brent History and Monthly Averages

WTI average
$68.13
EIA annual average
WTI vs prior year
+74.0%
2020: $39.16
Brent average
$70.86
EIA annual average
Brent vs prior year
+68.9%
2020: $41.96

WTI averaged $68.13 per barrel in 2021, up $28.97 (74.0%) from 2020; that was the highest annual average since 2014.

Monthly average prices in 2021

Monthly averages and daily ranges, 2021 ($/bbl)
MonthWTI avgWTI highWTI lowBrent avgBrent − WTI (matched dates)WTI (September 2026 $)Brent (September 2026 $)
January$52.00$53.47$47.47$54.77+$2.80$66.98$70.55
February$59.04$63.43$53.55$62.28+$3.16$75.63$79.79
March$62.33$66.08$57.75$65.41+$3.08$79.29$83.21
April$61.72$65.00$58.73$64.81+$2.94$77.87$81.77
May$65.17$66.87$61.95$68.53+$3.33$81.57$85.78
June$71.38$74.21$67.80$73.16+$1.79$88.52$90.73
July$72.49$75.37$66.45$75.17+$2.53$89.47$92.77
August$67.70$71.31$62.25$70.61+$3.09$83.38$86.97
September$71.65$75.54$68.26$74.49+$2.94$88.01$91.50
October$81.48$85.64$76.01$83.54+$2.06$99.26$101.77
November$79.15$84.12$66.14$81.05+$2.29$95.95$98.25
December$71.71$76.83$65.44$74.17+$2.81$86.66$89.64

Monthly averages are EIA's published figures. Brent − WTI is the average over dates with both prices published, so it can differ from the difference between the two monthly averages. Inflation-adjusted columns use CPI-U for each month, expressed in September 2026 dollars; “—” means CPI-U for that month is not available.

From $47.47 on Jan 4, 2021, WTI climbed to $85.64 by Oct 26, 2021, an 80% gain. The price finished the year 59% above its first 2021 close of $47.47. The steepest fall within the year ran from $85.64 on Oct 26, 2021 to $65.44 on Dec 1, 2021, a 24% drop. Second-half prices averaged $73.92, up from $62.21 in the first half.

Brent averaged $70.86, up $28.90 (68.9%) from 2020, with daily prices from $50.37 to $85.76; on 246 matched dates it was on average $2.72 above WTI.

The monthly average was lowest in January ($52.00) and highest in October ($81.48). In September 2026 dollars (CPI-U), the 2021 average is $84.72, higher than 2025's real average by $16.28 (23.8%). The 2020s as a whole averaged $72.25, so 2021 ran below its decade. Of 40 complete years with an EIA annual average, 2021 ranks 11th highest.

2021 summary statistics

MeasureWTIBrentBrent − WTI
Average$68.13$70.86+$2.72
Change vs 2020 average+$28.97+$28.90+$0.23
Highest daily price$85.64 Oct 26, 2021$85.76 Oct 20, 2021—
Lowest daily price$47.47 Jan 4, 2021$50.37 Jan 4, 2021—
Highest daily spread——+$5.11 Nov 23, 2021
Lowest daily spread——−$0.53 Oct 26, 2021
First observation$47.47 Jan 4, 2021$50.37 Jan 4, 2021—
Last observation$75.33 Dec 31, 2021$77.24 Dec 31, 2021—
Published daily observations251253246 matched
Average in September 2026 dollars$84.72$88.11—

Daily spot prices in 2021

Show all 258 dates (Jan 4, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021)
DateWTIBrentBrent − WTI
Jan 4, 2021$47.47$50.37+$2.90
Jan 5, 2021$49.78$53.16+$3.38
Jan 6, 2021$50.45$53.80+$3.35
Jan 7, 2021$50.63$53.70+$3.07
Jan 8, 2021$52.14$55.51+$3.37
Jan 11, 2021$52.15$54.84+$2.69
Jan 12, 2021$53.08$55.98+$2.90
Jan 13, 2021$52.81$55.52+$2.71
Jan 14, 2021$53.47$55.76+$2.29
Jan 15, 2021$52.25$54.80+$2.55
Jan 18, 2021—$54.21—
Jan 19, 2021$52.87$55.38+$2.51
Jan 20, 2021$53.16$55.66+$2.50
Jan 21, 2021$53.00$55.68+$2.68
Jan 22, 2021$52.28$55.22+$2.94
Jan 25, 2021$52.78$55.44+$2.66
Jan 26, 2021$52.61$55.26+$2.65
Jan 27, 2021$52.81$55.07+$2.26
Jan 28, 2021$52.26$54.87+$2.61
Jan 29, 2021$52.16$55.25+$3.09
Feb 1, 2021$53.55$56.42+$2.87
Feb 2, 2021$54.77$57.62+$2.85
Feb 3, 2021$55.67$58.61+$2.94
Feb 4, 2021$56.19$58.98+$2.79
Feb 5, 2021$56.80$59.48+$2.68
Feb 8, 2021$57.95$60.17+$2.22
Feb 9, 2021$58.34$60.74+$2.40
Feb 10, 2021$58.69$61.17+$2.48
Feb 11, 2021$58.22$61.09+$2.87
Feb 12, 2021$59.50$62.47+$2.97
Feb 15, 2021—$63.58—
Feb 16, 2021$60.07$63.96+$3.89
Feb 17, 2021$61.09$65.02+$3.93
Feb 18, 2021$60.40$64.09+$3.69
Feb 19, 2021$59.12$62.84+$3.72
Feb 22, 2021$61.67$64.73+$3.06
Feb 23, 2021$61.66$65.16+$3.50
Feb 24, 2021$63.21$66.85+$3.64
Feb 25, 2021$63.43$66.69+$3.26
Feb 26, 2021$61.55$65.86+$4.31
Mar 1, 2021$60.54$64.56+$4.02
Mar 2, 2021$59.70$63.17+$3.47
Mar 3, 2021$61.33$64.70+$3.37
Mar 4, 2021$63.81$67.32+$3.51
Mar 5, 2021$66.08$69.95+$3.87
Mar 8, 2021$65.03$68.00+$2.97
Mar 9, 2021$64.02$67.03+$3.01
Mar 10, 2021$64.45$67.53+$3.08
Mar 11, 2021$66.02$69.34+$3.32
Mar 12, 2021$65.59$68.87+$3.28
Mar 15, 2021$65.36$68.78+$3.42
Mar 16, 2021$64.82$67.95+$3.13
Mar 17, 2021$64.55$67.73+$3.18
Mar 18, 2021$59.95$62.11+$2.16
Mar 19, 2021$61.43$64.00+$2.57
Mar 22, 2021$61.48$63.89+$2.41
Mar 23, 2021$57.75$59.96+$2.21
Mar 24, 2021$61.12$63.70+$2.58
Mar 25, 2021$58.47$61.21+$2.74
Mar 26, 2021$60.93$63.77+$2.84
Mar 29, 2021$61.49$64.06+$2.57
Mar 30, 2021$60.55$63.28+$2.73
Mar 31, 2021$59.19$63.52+$4.33
Apr 1, 2021$61.41$63.85+$2.44
Apr 5, 2021$58.73——
Apr 6, 2021$59.34$61.47+$2.13
Apr 7, 2021$59.77$61.86+$2.09
Apr 8, 2021$59.61$62.09+$2.48
Apr 9, 2021$59.29$61.89+$2.60
Apr 12, 2021$59.70$62.38+$2.68
Apr 13, 2021$60.20$62.83+$2.63
Apr 14, 2021$63.15$66.11+$2.96
Apr 15, 2021$63.42$66.13+$2.71
Apr 16, 2021$63.16$65.98+$2.82
Apr 19, 2021$63.33$66.54+$3.21
Apr 20, 2021$62.61$65.34+$2.73
Apr 21, 2021$61.34$64.02+$2.68
Apr 22, 2021$61.45$65.07+$3.62
Apr 23, 2021$62.18$65.75+$3.57
Apr 26, 2021$62.02$65.50+$3.48
Apr 27, 2021$63.03$66.25+$3.22
Apr 28, 2021$63.81$67.08+$3.27
Apr 29, 2021$65.00$68.26+$3.26
Apr 30, 2021$63.50$67.73+$4.23
May 3, 2021$64.46——
May 4, 2021$65.72$68.91+$3.19
May 5, 2021$65.63$69.71+$4.08
May 6, 2021$64.73$68.62+$3.89
May 7, 2021$64.96$68.73+$3.77
May 10, 2021$64.92$68.61+$3.69
May 11, 2021$65.31$68.83+$3.52
May 12, 2021$65.96$69.62+$3.66
May 13, 2021$63.82$67.36+$3.54
May 14, 2021$65.32$69.24+$3.92
May 17, 2021$66.24$69.62+$3.38
May 18, 2021$65.49$69.01+$3.52
May 19, 2021$63.28$66.88+$3.60
May 20, 2021$61.95$65.18+$3.23
May 21, 2021$63.61$66.72+$3.11
May 24, 2021$66.13$68.59+$2.46
May 25, 2021$66.27$68.80+$2.53
May 26, 2021$66.41$68.93+$2.52
May 27, 2021$66.87$69.43+$2.56
May 28, 2021$66.31$69.36+$3.05
Jun 1, 2021$67.80$70.03+$2.23
Jun 2, 2021$68.79$70.60+$1.81
Jun 3, 2021$68.81$70.71+$1.90
Jun 4, 2021$69.57$71.30+$1.73
Jun 7, 2021$69.21$70.89+$1.68
Jun 8, 2021$70.11$71.39+$1.28
Jun 9, 2021$69.90$71.31+$1.41
Jun 10, 2021$70.34$71.65+$1.31
Jun 11, 2021$71.00$72.05+$1.05
Jun 14, 2021$70.94$72.27+$1.33
Jun 15, 2021$72.06$73.38+$1.32
Jun 16, 2021$72.03$73.88+$1.85
Jun 17, 2021$71.06$72.92+$1.86
Jun 18, 2021$71.64$73.10+$1.46
Jun 21, 2021$73.64$74.49+$0.85
Jun 22, 2021$73.15$74.92+$1.77
Jun 23, 2021$73.11$75.22+$2.11
Jun 24, 2021$73.31$75.95+$2.64
Jun 25, 2021$74.21$76.45+$2.24
Jun 28, 2021$72.98$74.78+$1.80
Jun 29, 2021$73.14$75.38+$2.24
Jun 30, 2021$73.52$76.94+$3.42
Jul 1, 2021$75.33$76.69+$1.36
Jul 2, 2021$75.37$77.51+$2.14
Jul 5, 2021—$78.34—
Jul 6, 2021$73.62$75.81+$2.19
Jul 7, 2021$72.22$74.31+$2.09
Jul 8, 2021$72.98$75.07+$2.09
Jul 9, 2021$74.56$77.14+$2.58
Jul 12, 2021$74.21$76.77+$2.56
Jul 13, 2021$75.24$77.50+$2.26
Jul 14, 2021$73.06$75.74+$2.68
Jul 15, 2021$71.67$74.53+$2.86
Jul 16, 2021$71.76$74.46+$2.70
Jul 19, 2021$66.45$69.33+$2.88
Jul 20, 2021$67.32$70.03+$2.71
Jul 21, 2021$70.26$72.54+$2.28
Jul 22, 2021$72.15$74.25+$2.10
Jul 23, 2021$72.24$74.86+$2.62
Jul 26, 2021$72.15$74.79+$2.64
Jul 27, 2021$71.68$74.87+$3.19
Jul 28, 2021$72.37$75.09+$2.72
Jul 29, 2021$73.62$76.30+$2.68
Jul 30, 2021$73.93$77.72+$3.79
Aug 2, 2021$71.31$73.91+$2.60
Aug 3, 2021$70.64$73.24+$2.60
Aug 4, 2021$68.19$70.99+$2.80
Aug 5, 2021$69.10$72.14+$3.04
Aug 6, 2021$68.26$71.02+$2.76
Aug 9, 2021$66.56$69.65+$3.09
Aug 10, 2021$68.33$71.14+$2.81
Aug 11, 2021$69.30$71.99+$2.69
Aug 12, 2021$69.12$71.79+$2.67
Aug 13, 2021$68.36$70.90+$2.54
Aug 16, 2021$67.44$70.07+$2.63
Aug 17, 2021$66.50$69.40+$2.90
Aug 18, 2021$65.36$68.61+$3.25
Aug 19, 2021$63.69$66.80+$3.11
Aug 20, 2021$62.25$65.51+$3.26
Aug 23, 2021$65.65$69.07+$3.42
Aug 24, 2021$67.50$71.21+$3.71
Aug 25, 2021$68.54$72.12+$3.58
Aug 26, 2021$67.42$70.42+$3.00
Aug 27, 2021$68.84$72.26+$3.42
Aug 30, 2021$69.28——
Aug 31, 2021$68.43$73.45+$5.02
Sep 1, 2021$68.63$71.99+$3.36
Sep 2, 2021$70.07$73.56+$3.49
Sep 3, 2021$69.34$73.07+$3.73
Sep 6, 2021—$72.43—
Sep 7, 2021$68.49$71.52+$3.03
Sep 8, 2021$69.36$72.36+$3.00
Sep 9, 2021$68.26$71.32+$3.06
Sep 10, 2021$69.82$72.44+$2.62
Sep 13, 2021$70.54$72.97+$2.43
Sep 14, 2021$70.53$73.05+$2.52
Sep 15, 2021$72.59$74.84+$2.25
Sep 16, 2021$72.69$75.14+$2.45
Sep 17, 2021$72.09$74.64+$2.55
Sep 20, 2021$70.41$73.59+$3.18
Sep 21, 2021$70.51$73.65+$3.14
Sep 22, 2021$72.37$75.50+$3.13
Sep 23, 2021$73.43$76.44+$3.01
Sep 24, 2021$74.18$77.42+$3.24
Sep 27, 2021$75.54$78.85+$3.31
Sep 28, 2021$75.44$78.30+$2.86
Sep 29, 2021$75.06$77.86+$2.80
Sep 30, 2021$75.22$77.81+$2.59
Oct 1, 2021$76.01$79.40+$3.39
Oct 4, 2021$77.68$81.44+$3.76
Oct 5, 2021$79.17$82.72+$3.55
Oct 6, 2021$77.66$81.39+$3.73
Oct 7, 2021$78.46$82.34+$3.88
Oct 8, 2021$79.55$82.17+$2.62
Oct 11, 2021$80.64$83.75+$3.11
Oct 12, 2021$80.75$83.53+$2.78
Oct 13, 2021$80.67$83.53+$2.86
Oct 14, 2021$81.43$83.86+$2.43
Oct 15, 2021$82.39$84.67+$2.28
Oct 18, 2021$82.62$84.13+$1.51
Oct 19, 2021$83.19$85.02+$1.83
Oct 20, 2021$84.40$85.76+$1.36
Oct 21, 2021$82.64$84.58+$1.94
Oct 22, 2021$84.53$85.43+$0.90
Oct 25, 2021$84.64$84.85+$0.21
Oct 26, 2021$85.64$85.11−$0.53
Oct 27, 2021$82.66$84.12+$1.46
Oct 28, 2021$82.78$83.40+$0.62
Oct 29, 2021$83.50$83.10−$0.40
Nov 1, 2021$84.08$84.51+$0.43
Nov 2, 2021$83.91$84.42+$0.51
Nov 3, 2021$80.82$81.10+$0.28
Nov 4, 2021$78.88$80.15+$1.27
Nov 5, 2021$81.25$82.43+$1.18
Nov 8, 2021$81.96$83.22+$1.26
Nov 9, 2021$84.12$84.52+$0.40
Nov 10, 2021$81.23$82.91+$1.68
Nov 11, 2021$81.47$83.40+$1.93
Nov 12, 2021$80.87$82.90+$2.03
Nov 15, 2021$80.85$81.94+$1.09
Nov 16, 2021$80.76$82.85+$2.09
Nov 17, 2021$78.32$80.67+$2.35
Nov 18, 2021$78.92$82.45+$3.53
Nov 19, 2021$76.11$80.24+$4.13
Nov 22, 2021$76.74$80.97+$4.23
Nov 23, 2021$78.32$83.43+$5.11
Nov 24, 2021$78.32$82.37+$4.05
Nov 25, 2021—$82.05—
Nov 26, 2021—$72.37—
Nov 29, 2021$69.88$73.34+$3.46
Nov 30, 2021$66.14$70.86+$4.72
Dec 1, 2021$65.44$69.53+$4.09
Dec 2, 2021$66.60$70.56+$3.96
Dec 3, 2021$66.39$70.71+$4.32
Dec 6, 2021$69.62$73.38+$3.76
Dec 7, 2021$71.94$75.54+$3.60
Dec 8, 2021$72.43$75.94+$3.51
Dec 9, 2021$70.87$74.10+$3.23
Dec 10, 2021$71.71$74.98+$3.27
Dec 13, 2021$71.19$74.12+$2.93
Dec 14, 2021$70.57$73.37+$2.80
Dec 15, 2021$70.89$73.71+$2.82
Dec 16, 2021$72.34$74.64+$2.30
Dec 17, 2021$70.93$72.97+$2.04
Dec 20, 2021$68.69$70.51+$1.82
Dec 21, 2021$71.10$72.85+$1.75
Dec 22, 2021$72.82$74.69+$1.87
Dec 23, 2021$73.89$76.26+$2.37
Dec 24, 2021—$75.24—
Dec 27, 2021$75.49——
Dec 28, 2021$76.01——
Dec 29, 2021$76.58$78.63+$2.05
Dec 30, 2021$76.83$78.61+$1.78
Dec 31, 2021$75.33$77.24+$1.91

“—” means EIA published no price for that benchmark on that date.

Source and methodology

ProviderSeriesUnitsCoverageLatest observation
U.S. Energy Information AdministrationRWTC — WTI spot price FOB$/bblJan 4, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021Dec 31, 2021
U.S. Energy Information AdministrationRBRTE — Brent spot price FOB$/bblJan 4, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021Dec 31, 2021
U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCUUR0000SA0 — CPI-U, all items, NSAindex, 1982–84=100monthly and annual averageSeptember 2026

Inflation adjustment: real = nominal × CPI-U(September 2026) ÷ CPI-U(period). Annual figures use the BLS annual average CPI-U; a year without one uses the mean of the months published so far.

Last updated: Oct 21, 2026, 5:27 PM CDT. Raw values are shown in source units; any conversion is labeled. See methodology and data sources.

Download:2021 daily prices (CSV)