Brent Crude Oil Price History
Historical Brent crude oil prices with interactive charts. Switch between 7-day, 30-day, and 90-day views to analyze price trends and patterns.
Brent Crude Oil
$74.46
USD / barrel
Updated: 2026/8/17 02:58:08
Brent Price History Overview
Brent crude oil has experienced significant price volatility throughout its history. From trading below $20 per barrel in the early 2000s, it surged to a record high near $147 in July 2008 before crashing during the financial crisis. The 2010s saw prices fluctuate between $30 and $115, driven by OPEC decisions and the US shale revolution.
In April 2020, oil prices briefly turned negative for WTI futures due to the COVID-19 pandemic demand collapse and storage capacity limits. Brent crude fell to around $19 per barrel. Recovery was swift, with prices climbing back above $80 by late 2021 as demand rebounded and supply remained constrained.
Historical price analysis helps investors and analysts identify support and resistance levels, seasonal patterns, and long-term trends. The chart above shows recent closing prices for Brent crude oil futures.
Brent crude annual average price by year
Annual average of the Europe Brent Spot Price FOB, in US dollars per barrel, rounded to the nearest dollar. Source: US Energy Information Administration. Completed calendar years only — for the current year use the live chart above.
| Year | Avg USD/bbl | What defined the year |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $29 | Prices recover after the 1998 crash as OPEC restores discipline |
| 2001 | $24 | Demand weakens after the global slowdown |
| 2002 | $25 | — |
| 2003 | $29 | Iraq war adds a supply risk premium |
| 2004 | $38 | Chinese demand growth begins to bite |
| 2005 | $55 | Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupt Gulf of Mexico output |
| 2006 | $65 | — |
| 2007 | $72 | Tight spare capacity drives a sustained rally |
| 2008 | $97 | Record intraday high near $147 in July, then collapse in the financial crisis |
| 2009 | $62 | Demand trough during the global recession |
| 2010 | $80 | — |
| 2011 | $111 | Arab Spring and the loss of Libyan supply |
| 2012 | $112 | Peak of the triple-digit era |
| 2013 | $109 | — |
| 2014 | $99 | US shale surge; OPEC declines to cut and prices break down late in the year |
| 2015 | $52 | Full-year impact of the shale-driven price collapse |
| 2016 | $44 | Cycle low near $28 in January before OPEC+ forms |
| 2017 | $54 | OPEC+ production cuts take effect |
| 2018 | $71 | — |
| 2019 | $64 | — |
| 2020 | $42 | COVID-19 demand shock; Brent briefly trades near $19 in April |
| 2021 | $71 | Demand rebounds while supply stays constrained |
| 2022 | $101 | Russia-Ukraine war pushes Brent back above $120 intraday |
| 2023 | $82 | OPEC+ cuts offset weaker demand growth |
| 2024 | $80 | — |
Across this period the strongest year was 2012 at an average of $112 a barrel, and the weakest was 2001 at $24. That range is the single most useful piece of context for judging any current quote: Brent has spent time both above $110 and below $45 within a single decade, so a price that feels extreme in isolation is often unremarkable historically.
Monthly Brent data and how to read it
The chart at the top of this page is the fastest way to read recent monthly Brent moves: switch it to the 30-day or 90-day view and each point becomes a near-monthly snapshot of where the benchmark traded. For longer horizons the annual table above compresses twelve months into a single average, which is ideal for year-over-year comparison but hides intra-year swings.
If you need month-by-month granularity across many years, combine the two views: the annual table shows the shape of each year (was it a rising or falling year?), while the interactive chart zooms into the specific months that drove it. Queries such as “brent crude oil price monthly historical data” are really asking for that combination rather than a single number.
A practical read: monthly Brent averages tend to cluster tightly in calm years (a $2–$4 band) and spread wide in event years (2008, 2020 and 2022 each saw $20–$40 monthly ranges). When a month looks extreme, check which year it sits in before treating it as a new normal.
Monthly and seasonal patterns
Monthly Brent data shows a mild seasonal tendency rather than a reliable rule. Prices often firm through the second quarter as refiners return from maintenance and build product ahead of the northern hemisphere summer driving season, and they frequently soften in the autumn once that demand passes and maintenance resumes.
The effect is real but small, and it is routinely overwhelmed by larger forces. An OPEC+ quota decision, a supply disruption or a shift in the dollar can move Brent further in a week than seasonality does across a whole quarter. In 2020 and 2022 the seasonal pattern was simply irrelevant next to a pandemic and a war. Treat seasonality as a mild tilt in the odds, never as a forecast.
A second point matters when comparing months across long spans: nominal prices ignore inflation. Brent averaging $97 in 2008 and $101 in 2022 look similar, but the 2008 figure represented meaningfully more purchasing power. Any comparison across more than a few years should be adjusted for inflation before conclusions are drawn.
Related pages
- Brent vs WTI — how the two benchmarks have diverged and why the spread moves.
- Brent oil price forecast — what the forward curve and major agencies currently imply.
- Oil prices by country — how the global benchmark translates into local costs.