--- title: "Crude Oil Price History (WTI)" description: "Annual average WTI crude oil prices from 2000 to 2024. Covers the 2008 peak of $100/barrel, the 2020 COVID low and brief negative futures price." canonical: https://www.getswoopr.com/tables/economy/crude-oil-price-history/ source: "Swoopr Investment: https://www.getswoopr.com" --- ## Direct Answer > WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil prices have ranged from negative (-$37/barrel, April 2020, a futures market anomaly) to +$147/barrel (July 2008, pre-financial crisis peak). Oil averaged $95/barrel in 2022 (Russia-Ukraine), $77/barrel in 2023, and approximately $75-80/barrel in 2024. The long-run average since 2000 is approximately $65-70/barrel. # Crude Oil Price History (WTI Spot) ## WTI Crude Oil Annual Average Price (Selected Years, 2000-2024) | Year | WTI Annual Average ($/barrel) | | --- | --- | | 2000 | $30 | | 2004 | $41 | | 2006 | $66 | | 2007 | $72 | | 2008 | $100 | | 2009 | $62 | | 2011 | $95 | | 2014 | $93 | | 2015 (supply glut) | $49 | | 2016 | $43 | | 2017 | $51 | | 2018 | $65 | | 2019 | $57 | | 2020 (COVID) | $42 | | 2021 | $68 | | 2022 (Ukraine war) | $95 | | 2023 | $77 | | 2024 est. | $78 | Source: [St. Louis Fed FRED: WTI Crude Oil Price](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DCOILWTICO). Data through 2024; last checked September 2026. ## Frequently asked questions How do oil prices affect the stock market? Oil price effects on stocks vary by sector. Energy companies (ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips) directly benefit from higher oil prices; their profitability is highly correlated with WTI. Airlines, trucking (FedEx, UPS), chemicals, and manufacturers with significant energy costs are hurt by higher prices. Consumer discretionary stocks (especially auto-related) can be hurt as higher gasoline prices reduce disposable income. The overall market relationship is ambiguous: pre-2008, higher oil was often associated with strong global growth (positive for stocks); post-COVID era, oil shocks from Russia-Ukraine were stagflationary (negative for stocks broadly). What caused negative oil prices in April 2020? On April 20, 2020, the May 2020 WTI futures contract settled at -$37.63/barrel, the first negative price in oil market history. The cause: COVID lockdowns had collapsed oil demand; storage capacity was nearly full; anyone holding the May futures contract was obligated to take physical delivery of oil (1,000 barrels per contract) at Cushing, Oklahoma. With no storage available, holders of the futures contract paid buyers to take it off their hands rather than arrange impossible delivery. This was a futures market and logistics anomaly, not the actual price at which most oil was transacting. Spot prices and other month futures remained positive. What is OPEC+ and how does it influence prices? OPEC+ is an alliance of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, 13 members including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, and others) plus non-OPEC producers including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mexico (10+ additional). The group controls approximately 40-50% of global oil production and coordinates output to manage prices. OPEC+ production cuts in 2022-2024 helped support oil prices above $70-75/barrel despite economic uncertainty. Saudi Arabia and Russia have the largest production within OPEC+. The alliance is imperfect: members sometimes exceed quotas; geopolitical rifts (2020 Saudi-Russia price war) can cause price collapses; and non-OPEC production (especially U.S. shale, which hit record 13+ mb/day in 2024) limits OPEC+ pricing power. ## Worked Example: Reading Three Oil Cycles From the Table The annual averages above describe three complete cycles. From 2008 to 2009 the average fell from $100 to $62, a change of -38%, which is the financial-crisis collapse even though the 2008 average still carries the first-half spike toward $147. From 2014 to 2016 the average fell from $93 to $43, -54% over two years, the shale supply glut. From 2020 to 2022 it rose from $42 to $95, 126%, the recovery from the COVID low into the Russia-Ukraine shock. Two cautions apply when using these figures. They are annual averages of a daily spot series, so an intra-year extreme (the negative April 2020 futures settlement, the July 2008 peak) is diluted; a question about a specific month needs the monthly FRED series linked under References. And they are nominal dollars: $100 in 2008 bought more than $100 in 2022, so a comparison across more than a few years should deflate both figures with a price index before calling one "higher" than the other. ## Cite This Page If you reference this table in your own work, use the following citation format and add the date you accessed it: > Swoopr Editorial Team. (2026). *Crude Oil Price History (WTI Spot)*. Swoopr Investment. [https://www.getswoopr.com/tables/economy/crude-oil-price-history/](https://www.getswoopr.com/tables/economy/crude-oil-price-history/) Check the figures against the primary sources listed under References before you rely on or republish them; the series they come from are revised. ## References - [St. Louis Fed FRED: WTI Crude Oil Price]( https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DCOILWTICO) [Swoopr Editorial Team](https://www.getswoopr.com/authors/swoopr-editorial-team/) produces independent investment education and research content. Corrections: [corrections policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/corrections-policy/). Standards: [editorial standards](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/editorial-policy/).