The term 'West Texas Intermediate', sometimes found in news, refers to a grade of
- (a) Crude oil ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) Bullion
- (c) Rare earth elements
- (d) Uranium
Why the answer is (a)
• West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a light, sweet grade of crude oil produced in the US and priced at Cushing, Oklahoma; it is one of the three global benchmarks with Brent (North Sea) and Dubai/Oman — option (a).
• India's crude basket is priced mainly off Brent and Dubai/Oman, but WTI moves headlines, as in April 2020 when it briefly turned negative.
• Bullion (b) is priced by troy ounce on LBMA/COMEX; rare earths (c) and uranium (d) have no 'WTI' grade.
• Hence option (a).
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) Bullion
- Bullion grades are by purity, not WTI.
- (c) Rare earth elements
- Rare earths have no WTI benchmark.
- (d) Uranium
- Uranium is priced as U3O8, not WTI.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, held on 4 October 2020. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.