Oil is not only a natural resource, but also a commodity with financial and political attributes. It is the respective laws of these attributes that determine the oil price.

Foreign exchange futures

Why does the international crude oil price fluctuate? To answer this question, the crude oil futures exchange may be an intuitive place.

As the two major oil futures that determine the international crude oil price, one is called West Texas Intermediate Oil (WTI), which is traded on the new york Commercial Futures Exchange. Oil delivered based on WTI futures price mainly comes from North America, such as Canada, Gulf of Mexico and Venezuela.

The other is Brent, which is traded on the London International Petroleum Exchange. The oil delivered based on Brent futures price mainly comes from the Middle East, North Africa and parts of the North Sea in England. In addition to these two global benchmark oil futures, there are also regional oil futures such as oil futures of Tokyo Industrial Products Exchange in Japan and Oman crude oil futures listed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

At present, all crude oil produced or sold in North America is based on WTI crude oil; Brent crude oil is the base price of crude oil sold to Europe in the former Soviet Union, Africa and the Middle East. The crude oil produced by oil-producing countries in the Middle East or sold from the Middle East to Asia is mainly Dubai crude oil in the United Arab Emirates.