What the data shows
The lines show monthly reference prices for oil, gas and coal in different markets. LNG means liquefied natural gas: gas cooled into a liquid for transport. Prices can differ by region, even for the same kind of fuel.
Global energy cost translator.
Compare how prices for oil, natural gas and coal have changed. These fuels are sold in different units, so the chart starts each line at 100 to compare price changes fairly.
Compare movement without mixing units.
Oil, gas and coal are measured differently, so the tool compares how their prices move instead of treating their units as equal.
Oil
Usually priced per barrel.
Natural gas
Usually priced per MMBtu of heat.
Coal
Usually priced per metric tonne.
Index to 100
Compare percentage movement, not the raw prices.
What this page helps you understand.
Try it in three steps
- Choose up to six fuel prices. Start with two or three.
- Keep the “Index each series to 100” box checked.
- Update the analysis and compare how much each price changed.
An index compares changes. It does not turn a tonne of coal into a barrel of oil.
Understand the units
Oil is priced per barrel, coal per metric tonne, and gas per MMBtu. A tonne is 1,000 kg. MMBtu means one million British thermal units, a measure of heat energy. A smaller price number does not automatically mean cheaper energy.
Explore the data.
Monthly values are matched by date.
Preparing stored observations…
What the changes look like.
These summary numbers describe the dates shown in the chart. They tell you what happened in the past; they do not predict what happens next.
See and download the numbers.
The table makes exact values easier to check. A CSV download is a simple table file that opens in most spreadsheet programs.
This chart compares price changes, not equal amounts of energy. Oil, coal and gas have different qualities and use different units. Comparing useful heat would need more information. Natural gas is also used to make nitrogen fertilizer; compare fertilizer prices →
How this connects to other prices.
Each benchmark has its own page with sources and history: Brent, WTI and US natural gas. The oil benchmarks hub adds Dubai, Oman, Murban, WCS and the OPEC Basket.
How to read the results.
Every benchmark keeps its own unit
Brent and WTI are priced per barrel, US gas, European gas and Japanese LNG per MMBtu, and coal per metric tonne. With index mode on, each line starts at 100 so you compare how much it moved, not which fuel is “cheaper”.
Gas prices can differ by region
US gas, European gas and Japanese LNG are separate markets linked by shipping and contracts. A gap between them is normal, and it can widen when supply to one region is disrupted.
What the summary numbers mean
“Latest” is the last value in the displayed range, not necessarily today’s. For CAGR, volatility, drawdown and correlation, see the full guide to reading the workbench results.
Price movement is not energy per dollar.
Two fuels can have the same index score but very different prices and uses. To compare useful heat, you would also need each fuel’s energy content and the efficiency of the equipment using it. This page does not calculate your electricity bill or tell you which fuel to switch to.
What is in a download?
A CSV file is a table you can open in a spreadsheet. The download links give you the stored source observations, while the on-page table shows the latest values after your chosen changes, such as indexing or currency conversion. They may therefore show different numbers. Keep the dates, units and source names with any figures you reuse.
About the examples: Round numbers in these explanations are for learning. They are not current market quotes or predictions. “Not enough data” means a statistic cannot be calculated from the available observations.
Where the data comes from.
These links lead to the organisations or methods behind the numbers. New figures appear here after they are published and added to this site. A missing value means data is unavailable, not that the price or supply is zero.
World Bank Pink Sheet Monthly commodity benchmark histories.