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The month in figures · October 2026
Oil kept climbing in October. Brent averaged $125.0 a barrel, up 7.0% on September and 93.2% on a year earlier, the highest monthly average since July 2008, according to the World Bank's November Pink Sheet (World Bank, 2026a). The bank's energy price index rose 7.1%, a far gentler move than September's 25.7%. The power sector offered better news: wind and solar generated 18.9% of the world's electricity in September, 0.6 percentage points more than in August and 2.0 points more than a year earlier, according to monthly data from Ember (2026).
Energy market indicators, October 2026
Monthly average prices and changes
| Indicator | Unit | Value | Month on month | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent crude | $/bbl | 125.0 | +7.0% | +93.2% |
| Dubai crude | $/bbl | 102.7 | +10.1% | +59.7% |
| WTI crude | $/bbl | 97.7 | +0.8% | +62.3% |
| Natural gas (TTF) | $/MMBtu | 28.50 | +12.1% | +161.7% |
| LNG (Japan) | $/MMBtu | 16.59 | +2.0% | +49.5% |
| Thermal coal (Australia) | $/t | 152.3 | +3.5% | +41.7% |
| Wind + solar share, world (September) | % | 18.9 | +0.6 pts | +2.0 pts |
Source: World Bank (Pink Sheet, November 2026); Ember (monthly electricity data)
October's average was 3.8% above this year's April peak of $120.4/bbl and above the highest monthly average of the 2022 energy crisis, $120.1/bbl. In the World Bank's series, Brent was last higher in June and July 2008, at $133.0 and $133.9/bbl. Compared with last December's $62.7/bbl, the price has almost doubled; the average for January to October stands at $97.1/bbl.
The rise was uneven across grades. Middle Eastern Dubai crude gained 10.1% to $102.7/bbl, while US WTI added only 0.8% to $97.7/bbl. That widened the Brent–WTI spread from $19.9 in September to $27.3 in October. US energy prices barely moved at all: Henry Hub gas was essentially flat at $2.96/MMBtu.
