This chart shows the Spot Crude Oil Price: West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a specific grade of crude oil and one of the main global benchmarks for oil pricing, alongside Brent and Dubai Crude. Sourced primarily from Texas and one of the highest quality oils in the world, WTI is the primary oil benchmark for North America, with its main delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma. Oil is excluded from core CPI/core inflation calculations, which are based on the change in price of goods and services excluding food and energy. Crude oil prices tend to drop sharply during economic recessions — grey shaded areas mark NBER-dated US recessions. Data sourced from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).