The WTI price you see on charts comes from the NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil futures contract, traded on CME Group's Globex platform under the ticker CL. This page summarizes the contract specifications for standard, E-mini and Micro WTI futures and WTI options, how expiry works, and what each price move is worth. Always confirm details on CME Group's official contract pages before trading, as exchanges can change rules.
WTI Futures Specifications at a Glance
| WTI (CL) | E-mini (QM) | Micro WTI (MCL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange | NYMEX (CME Group) | NYMEX | NYMEX |
| Contract unit | 1,000 barrels | 500 barrels | 100 barrels |
| Price quotation | US dollars and cents per barrel | ||
| Minimum tick | $0.01 = $10.00 | $0.025 = $12.50 | $0.01 = $1.00 |
| Value of a $1 move | $1,000 | $500 | $100 |
| Settlement | Physical delivery, Cushing, OK | Cash (financially settled) | Cash (financially settled) |
| Trading hours (ET) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., with a 60-minute daily break from 5:00 p.m. | ||
Sources: CME Group contract specifications. Margin requirements are set by CME Clearing and your broker and change frequently, so they are not listed here.
Contract Months and Ticker Codes
WTI futures are listed for many consecutive months years into the future. Each contract is identified by the root symbol, a month code and the year — for example CLX26 is the November 2026 contract and CLZ26 the December 2026 contract. Month codes: F (Jan), G (Feb), H (Mar), J (Apr), K (May), M (Jun), N (Jul), Q (Aug), U (Sep), V (Oct), X (Nov), Z (Dec). Charting platforms use continuous symbols such as CL1! (front month) and CL2! (second month), which roll automatically.
Last Trading Day (Expiry)
Trading in a CL contract terminates three business days before the 25th calendar day of the month prior to the contract month. If the 25th is not a business day, trading terminates four business days before the 25th. Examples:
- November 2026 (CLX26): October 25, 2026 is a Sunday, so trading ended four business days earlier, on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
- December 2026 (CLZ26): November 25, 2026 is a Wednesday, so trading ends three business days earlier, on Friday, November 20, 2026.
Exchange holidays can shift these dates; check CME's calendar. E-mini and Micro contracts expire on a similar schedule but settle in cash. Most liquidity moves to the next contract several days before expiry.
Delivery
The standard contract is settled by physical delivery during the contract month at Cushing, Oklahoma, at pipeline or storage facilities with access to the exchange-approved Cushing terminals. Deliverable crude must be light and sweet — domestic grades meet limits on API gravity (roughly 37° to 42°) and sulfur content, and certain foreign grades are deliverable at set price differentials. In practice only a small fraction of contracts go to delivery; traders without access to Cushing storage must exit before expiry, which is what went wrong for some holders of the May 2020 contract when it settled at minus $37.63.
Daily Settlement and Price Limits
The daily settlement price for the active months is based on trading between 2:28 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. CME uses dynamic circuit breakers: if the price moves too far within a short period, trading pauses briefly before resuming with wider limits. Very large moves still happen: on March 9, 2026 WTI traded in a record $38 range.
WTI Options
- LO — Crude Oil options: American-style options on one CL futures contract (1,000 barrels); premium quoted in dollars per barrel, so $0.01 = $10.
- Weekly options: short-dated WTI options expiring on several days of the week, used for event risk such as EIA reports and OPEC+ meetings.
- Micro WTI options: options on the 100-barrel MCL contract.
Related Contracts
ICE Futures Europe lists a cash-settled WTI futures contract that tracks the NYMEX settlement, and Brent futures (ICE) are the main international counterpart — see the WTI-Brent spread. TradingView's USOIL series on our live chart follows the front-month WTI futures price.
What a Move Is Worth
At $90 a barrel, one CL contract represents $90,000 of crude, one QM $45,000 and one MCL $9,000. A $2 move is $2,000, $1,000 and $200 respectively. Try different scenarios in the WTI futures P&L calculator, and read the WTI trading guide for the risks involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the contract size of WTI crude oil futures?
The standard NYMEX WTI Light Sweet Crude Oil futures contract (CL) is 1,000 US barrels (42,000 gallons). The E-mini (QM) is 500 barrels and the Micro WTI (MCL) is 100 barrels.
How much is one tick in WTI crude oil futures worth?
The minimum price move for CL is $0.01 per barrel, worth $10 per contract. For the E-mini (QM) the tick is $0.025, worth $12.50, and for Micro WTI (MCL) the tick is $0.01, worth $1.00.
What are WTI crude oil futures trading hours?
On CME Globex, WTI futures trade Sunday to Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. US Eastern Time (5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central), with a 60-minute break each day starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. The daily settlement price is based on trading between 2:28 and 2:30 p.m. ET.
When does a WTI futures contract expire?
Trading in a CL contract ends three business days before the 25th calendar day of the month before the delivery month. If the 25th is not a business day, trading ends four business days before the 25th. For example, the November 2026 contract stopped trading on October 20, 2026, and the December 2026 contract on November 20, 2026.
Is WTI futures physically delivered?
Yes, the standard CL contract is physically delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma, during the delivery month. The E-mini and Micro contracts are cash-settled, so they never result in delivery. Most traders close or roll CL positions before the last trading day.
What size is a WTI options contract?
Standard NYMEX WTI options (LO) are American-style options on one CL futures contract, i.e. 1,000 barrels. CME also lists weekly WTI options and options on Micro WTI futures (100 barrels).
Sources
- CME Group — Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures contract specs
- CME Group — Micro WTI Crude Oil futures
- CME Group — WTI crude oil futures
- NYMEX Rulebook Chapter 200 — Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures
Disclaimer: General information only, not investment advice. Contract terms are summarized and may change; the CME Group rulebook is authoritative.