Oil markets are global, and therefore oil prices around the world generally move in tandem. There are differences in oil prices based on quality and geography, but the fungible nature of oil usually prevents specific benchmarks from getting too far out of line with other benchmarks. In the U.S., we are most familiar with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark and the internationally traded Brent crude. WTI is of slighter higher quality than Brent, and prior to about 2006 WTI almost always traded at a $1-$2/barrel premium over Brent. In 2007, that WTI premium became a WTI discount, which grew to more than ... (full story)