If I invested $10,000 in Crude oil (WTI) in Jan 2015
It would be worth $20,655 by Oct 2026 — 2.07×, or 6.4% a year.
Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (CC BY 4.0); inflation: BLS CPI-U. Historical illustration, not financial advice; ignores fees, storage and taxes. Details
How to read this example
West Texas Intermediate crude, a US benchmark, as a World Bank monthly average in dollars per barrel. This is a spot-price series, not a rolled futures or oil-ETF return. In this example, $10,000 bought 211.4165 barrels at the Jan 2015 average price of $47 per barrel. At the Oct 2026 level of $98, that quantity is worth $20,655. In Jan 2015 dollars, that is about $14,327 (1.43× after inflation).
Start-year stories for Crude oil (WTI):
Frequently asked questions
How much would $10,000 in Crude oil (WTI) in Jan 2015 be worth now?
About $20,655 as of Oct 2026, which is 2.07 times the original amount, or a 106.6% total return (6.4% annualized). That uses the official series cited below and ignores costs and taxes.
What is that in Jan 2015 dollars?
About $14,327, after adjusting with BLS CPI-U. Consumer prices rose 1.44× over the span, so the real multiple is 1.43× (3.1% real CAGR).
What if I had invested $10,000 in January 2000?
About $35,788 as of Oct 2026 (3.58×, 4.9% CAGR), on the same method.
What if I also added $100 a month starting after Jan 2015?
You would have contributed $24,100 in total, and the holding would be worth about $44,254 as of Oct 2026 (1.84× the money put in; money-weighted return 7.2%). Contributions are applied at each later monthly observation.
Is this the same as buying an ETF or a house?
No. An ETF that holds the commodity, futures, or related companies has fees, tracking differences, and sometimes roll yield. This page only moves a notional quantity with the official monthly series.
Sources, formula & caveats
Not financial advice. This is a historical thought experiment, not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures use monthly average spot prices from the World Bank Pink Sheet. They are not the return of a particular ETF, futures contract, mining stock, coin, bar, or brokerage account. They ignore transaction costs, storage, insurance, roll yield on futures, taxes, and slippage. A real investment would have returned something different.
Start month is the first observation on or after the date you enter. Years use a 365.25-day convention. Inflation uses BLS CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted.
- Source: World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet). Accessed via the World Bank. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 and the World Bank Dataset Terms.
- License and terms: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), subject to the World Bank Dataset Terms
- File: https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/74e8be41ceb20fa0da750cda2f6b9e4e-0050012026/related/CMO-Historical-Data-Monthly.xlsx (column “Crude oil, WTI”). World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet) | Updated on November 03, 2026
- Series in this file: Jan 1982 through Oct 2026 (538 months). Fetched 2026-11-10.