--- description: Crude oil prices topped $50 a barrel on two key indexes Thursday for the first time since November title: Oil Prices Top $50 a Barrel Following Disruptions image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [energy](/tag/energy/) ## energy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Crude Oil Prices Top $50 a Barrel For 1st Time in 6 Months  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 26, 2016 1:30 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 26, 2016 1:30 PM CUT Crude oil prices topped $50 a barrel on two key indexes Thursday for the first time since November. Brent Crude, the global benchmark, was [trading at $50.38](http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/@LCO.1 "undefined") a barrel Thursday morning. The West Texas Intermediate futures, another key benchmark, was [trading at $50.10](http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/@CL.1 "undefined") a barrel. Crossing the $50 mark breaks down a psychological barrier for traders who have worried about oil prices in recent months as the price of crude has dipped at times below $30 a barrel. But [analysts warn](http://www.wsj.com/articles/brent-crude-rises-above-50-a-barrel-1464229441 "undefined") the rebound could be temporary if the spike in prices leads to increased oil production. Prices have risen in part due to a [slowdown in production in Canada](http://time.com/4319287/fort-mcmurray-canada-wildfire-oil-prices/ "undefined") where a wildfire looms near oil production facilities as well disruptions to the [supply from Nigeria](http://fortune.com/2016/03/11/oil-prices-may-have-bottomed-says-iea/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4349071/crude-oil-50-mark/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4349071/crude-oil-50-mark/"},"headline":"Crude Oil Prices Top $50 a Barrel For 1st Time in 6 Months","datePublished":"2016-05-26T13:30:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:51:43.760Z","description":"But experts don't necessarily expect prices to stay there","url":"https://time.com/4349071/crude-oil-50-mark/","keywords":["energy"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/energy/","name":"energy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4349071/crude-oil-50-mark/","name":"Crude Oil Prices Top $50 a Barrel For 1st Time in 6 Months"}}]}] ```