The price of Brent crude oil is going crazy — but who is ‘Brent’? | CNN Business

This week, as the US and Israeli war against Iran continued to expand across the Middle East, traders and analysts have been fretting about “Brent” as if he’s an old, wayward friend: “Brent” got the highest anyone had seen in years on Monday. Later in the day, “Brent” fell hard, inched back up and then got knocked down again on Tuesday. It’s only Wednesday! Poor “Brent.” He’s really had a rough go of it lately. For those who don’t make a habit of following oil markets or commodities trading, “Brent” — or Brent crude — typically refers to the crude oil price benchmark most widely used by buyers and sellers around the world. Brent, which sets the price for most of the world’s traded oil, is considered the global standard; West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, is another benchmark used for US crude oil. But oil prices are complicated, perhaps none more so than Brent. The war in Iran is only adding to the confusion. First, some tangible facts: Brent crude oil was originally the name of the oil that Shell UK extracted from its undersea Brent oil field, a joint venture with Esso located off the northeastern coast of the UK’s Shetland Islands. The oil field