Dierent crudes indeed trade at dierent prices in the spot market, 

for a number of reasons. Firstly, the quality of dierent crudes 

(API gravity, sulfur content, and other indicators) varies greatly. 

In general, light sweet crude oils are priced higher than heavy 

sour crude oils. Secondly, changes in supply and demand may 

also lead to changes in the price dierentials, and oil companies 

will adapt sales strategies to the specic supply and demand 

situation of each region. For example, when a huge renery that 

only processes one certain crude is shut down by re, it may 

weaken the demand and price for that crude, which may widen 

its spread against its marker. Lastly, the same crude may be traded 

at dierent prices in dierent locations. Thus, there may be a 

geographical price spread for the same crude stream.

Oil price dierences generally will trade within a certain range 

over a given time frame, otherwise it may produce arbitrage trade 

opportunity. Also, market forces are such that the combination of, 

oil producers’ reluctance to produce and increased consumers’

demand will tend to force prices higher when oil price is too

low, and vice versa. This interplay between supply and demand 

typically bring the price dierentials back into a reasonable range.

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