Energy Information Administration. Oil Prices, Futures: Crude Oil Price (Light Sweet Crude), 04/1983 - 04/2015. Data-Planet™ Statistical Datasets by Conquest Systems, Inc. Dataset-ID: 004-009-001
Dataset: Shows the futures price of a barrel of light sweet crude oil under "Contract 1" on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Contract 1 covers oil to be delivered in the following month. Each contract expires on the third business day prior to the 25th calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month. After a contract expires, Contract 1 for the remainder of that calendar month is the second following month. The futures prices shown are the official daily closing prices at 2:30 pm from the NYMEX trading floor for a specific delivery month.
Reports the futures price of a barrel of light sweet Cushing, Oklahoma, crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), by day, month, and year, 1983-current. The NYMEX futures price for light sweet crude oil serves as a benchmark for other grades of crude oil. Light sweet crude oil is high-quality oil with low sulfur content, including specific domestic crudes with 0.42% sulfur by weight or less, not less than 37 API gravity nor more than 42 API gravity, and specific foreign crudes of not less that 34 nor more than 42 API. API gravity refers to the American Petroleum Institute’s inverted scale for denoting the lightness or heaviness of crude oils and other liquid hydrocarbons, with higher API gravity indicating a lighter crude with higher market value.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_fut_s1_d.htm
Category: Energy Resources and Industries, Prices, Consumption, and Cost of Living
Subject: Fuel Prices, Prices, Petroleum, Crude Oil
Source: Energy Information Administration
The Energy Information Administration (EIA), created by Congress in 1977, is an independent statistical and analytical agency within the United States Department of Energy. Its mission is to provide policy-independent data, forecasts, and analyses to promote sound policy making, efficient markets, and public understanding regarding energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/