---
title: "Crude Oil Futures Basics | ProFuturesTrader"
url: https://profuturestrader.com/education/crude-oil-futures-basics
description: "How CL and Micro WTI (MCL) crude oil futures are sized, settled, and scheduled, including last-trade rules. Educational only."
lang: en
---

Energy

# Crude Oil Futures Basics

An educational overview of WTI Crude Oil and Micro WTI Crude Oil futures. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any contract, and it is not a solicitation to open an account. Futures and options trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. You can lose more than you deposit.

West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, is a U.S. light sweet crude oil grade and one of the main benchmarks used in futures markets. CME Group lists a full-size contract and a micro contract on NYMEX. The full-size WTI Crude Oil contract (ticker **CL**) is 1,000 barrels. Micro WTI Crude Oil (**MCL**) is 100 barrels — one-tenth the size. Ten MCL contracts have the same oil quantity as one CL contract. Smaller is not safer. It changes the dollar amount that moves when the price ticks.

Contract facts below are from CME Group’s official contract specification pages, reviewed November 10, 2026. Specs, hours, listed months, last-trade rules, and margins can change. Confirm current details on cmegroup.com (https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/energy/crude-oil/light-sweet-crude.contractSpecs.html) before you trade. This article does not quote current crude prices or current margin dollar amounts, because those figures go stale.

## Contract specifications: CL vs. MCL

Main outright-contract specs published by CME Group, reviewed November 10, 2026. Calendar-spread increments, TAS markets, and options are omitted here.

| Specification | WTI Crude Oil (CL) | Micro WTI Crude Oil (MCL) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exchange / Globex ticker | NYMEX / CL | NYMEX / MCL |
| Contract unit | 1,000 barrels | 100 barrels |
| Minimum tick (outright) | $0.01 per barrel = $10.00 per contract | $0.01 per barrel = $1.00 per contract |
| Typical Globex hours | Sunday–Friday 5:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. CT, with a daily maintenance break 4:00–5:00 p.m. CT (Sunday 6:00 p.m.–Friday 5:00 p.m. ET; break 5:00–6:00 p.m. ET) | Same daily window: Sunday 5:00 p.m.–Friday 4:00 p.m. CT, with a daily break 4:00–5:00 p.m. CT |
| Contract months (as listed on the official specs, Nov 10, 2026) | Monthly for the current year and the next 10 calendar years, plus 2 additional months | Monthly for the current year and the next 3 calendar years |
| Settlement | Deliverable | Financially (cash) settled |
| Last trade | 3 business days before the 25th calendar day of the month prior to the contract month; if the 25th is not a business day, 4 business days before the 25th | 1 business day before the corresponding CL contract (the official specification also states this as 4 business days before the 25th of the month prior, or 5 business days before the 25th if the 25th is not a business day) |

CL is a physical-delivery contract. Delivery, when it occurs, is F.O.B. at a pipeline or storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, as NYMEX Chapter 200 provides, during the delivery month. Most retail accounts are not set up to make or take delivery of crude oil. If you do not intend to participate in delivery, **close or roll** a CL position well before last trade and first notice. See Contract Rollover, First Notice Day, and Last Trading Day (https://profuturestrader.com/education/contract-rollover).

MCL is cash-settled based on the daily settlement price of the corresponding CL contract on MCL’s last trading day. You do not receive or deliver barrels. You still mark the position to market, and you still take that settlement. MCL also **stops trading one business day before** the corresponding CL month. If you are comparing a December CL with a December MCL, they do not share the same last-trade date. Use the exchange calendar; do not count back from the 25th on a paper calendar and assume you have the official date. Holidays can shift a “business day.”

## How a tick translates to profit and loss

Both contracts are quoted in dollars and cents per barrel. The smallest outright change is $0.01 (one cent) per barrel.

- **CL:** 1 tick = $10.00 per contract (1,000 × $0.01). A $1.00 move is $1,000 per contract, before costs.
- **MCL:** 1 tick = $1.00 per contract (100 × $0.01). A $1.00 move is $100 per contract, before costs.

**Hypothetical example (for illustration only — not a current market price, and not a projection of results):** Suppose the front-month contract is at $70.00 a barrel and you are long one CL. A $1.00 rise to $71.00 would be a $1,000 gain (1,000 × $1), before commissions and fees. The same move against you would be a $1,000 loss. On one MCL contract, that $1.00 move would be $100. Ten MCL contracts would match the $1,000 CL result in this example. These figures ignore costs and slippage. Nothing here is a typical result.

Margin is a performance bond, not a down payment. This article does not quote current margin amounts. You can lose more than you deposited. Ten micros can recreate the dollar exposure of one CL contract. For the mechanics, see Margin and Leverage in Futures (https://profuturestrader.com/education/margin-and-leverage).

## What tends to move the market

CL and MCL often react to changes in expected supply and demand for crude and refined products. CME Group’s official WTI product page, reviewed November 10, 2026, lists among the commonly watched factors: **weekly EIA inventory reports, typically released on Wednesdays**, **API inventory reports, typically released on Tuesdays** (holiday weeks can shift these days), OPEC meetings and output decisions, refinery utilization, broader economic data such as GDP, natural gas, weather, and policy. That list is educational context. It is not a forecast, and it is not a recommendation to trade those events.

Scheduled items appear on an economic calendar; unscheduled geopolitical headlines do not always give you a row at a fixed time. Releases can produce sharp moves and gaps, including when other markets are closed or during the Globex maintenance break. See Reading the Economic Calendar (https://profuturestrader.com/education/reading-the-economic-calendar) and Order Types and Stops (https://profuturestrader.com/education/order-types-and-stops).

Earlier commentary on this site, Crude Drivers for Higher or Lower (https://profuturestrader.com/blog/crude-drivers-for-higher-or-lower), discusses some of the same themes in a market-note format. It is not a substitute for official specifications or for current inventory data from the reporting agencies.

## Position size and expiration

Work backward from a loss you can tolerate, in dollars, and from the $10 or $1 tick. If that implied size is less than one CL, a smaller contract may match the dollar amount more closely, or the trade may not fit at all. Adding contracts because the margin “fits” is how accounts get too big for their equity. Stops, if you use them, are not a guarantee of a fill at the stop price.

Watch the month on the ticket. Energy contracts often leave the front month earlier than a new trader expects, because last trade is tied to the 25th of the _prior_ month. Auto-roll settings, if your platform has them, should be read, not assumed.

## How to practice before you risk capital

A simulated account will not feel like a real one, but it is a reasonable place to learn the $1 versus $10 tick, and to practice a roll before a listed last-trade date.

ProFuturesTrader offers a **28-day no-cost demo** in a simulated environment, with charts and real-time market data, on desktop or iOS: https://profuturestrader.com/demo. Featured platforms include **ProFuturesTrader by CQG**, **TradingView**, and **MetaTrader 5**, among others: https://profuturestrader.com/platforms. Features and fees can change. Demo accounts use simulated funds. Demo results do not reflect real trading and are not indicative of future results.

## Talk it through, if that would help

If you want to walk through contract size, a demo, or how CL and MCL differ in dollar terms, you can call or email. There is no obligation to open an account.

**Drew Rathgeber**, President
949-996-4611 (9499964611) · drathgeber@profuturestrader.com
Desk: 1-888-776-6359 (18887766359)

You are also welcome at **Rehab for Futures Traders**, a free educational discussion — not counseling or therapy — hosted by Drew: https://profuturestrader.com/rehab-for-futures-traders.

We use cookies, including X (Twitter) advertising cookies, to measure sign-ups and improve the site.

## Structured data

```json
[
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "FinancialService",
    "name": "ProFuturesTrader",
    "description": "Professional futures trading platform with advanced charting, real-time data, and powerful tools for serious traders.",
    "url": "https://profuturestrader.com",
    "logo": "https://profuturestrader.com/favicon.png",
    "sameAs": [
      "https://twitter.com/profuturestrader"
    ],
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "addressCountry": "US"
    },
    "contactPoint": {
      "@type": "ContactPoint",
      "telephone": "+1-888-776-6359",
      "contactType": "customer service",
      "availableLanguage": "English"
    },
    "offers": {
      "@type": "Offer",
      "description": "Professional futures trading accounts"
    }
  },
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "WebSite",
    "name": "ProFuturesTrader",
    "url": "https://profuturestrader.com",
    "potentialAction": {
      "@type": "SearchAction",
      "target": "https://profuturestrader.com/?search={search_term_string}",
      "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
    }
  },
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 1,
        "name": "Home",
        "item": "https://profuturestrader.com/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 2,
        "name": "Education",
        "item": "https://profuturestrader.com/education"
      },
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 3,
        "name": "Crude Oil Futures Basics",
        "item": "https://profuturestrader.com/education/crude-oil-futures-basics"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Crude Oil Futures Basics",
    "dateModified": "2026-11-10",
    "author": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "ProFuturesTrader LLC"
    },
    "publisher": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "ProFuturesTrader"
    },
    "mainEntityOfPage": "https://profuturestrader.com/education/crude-oil-futures-basics"
  }
]
```