Crude Oil Futures

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This article describes a futures contract with a discrete termination or delivery date. View articles referencing this futures contract.

 

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Charles Armstrong

Asset Prime

This article is about the specific futures contract. For the drivers of oil prices in general, see the commodity page on Oil.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange under ticker symbol CL in U.S. dollars and cents per barrel.^[1]

The chart at left shows front-month crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in U.S. dollars and cents per barrel.

Delivery Dates

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures are delivered every year in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December (all months).^[1]

The following is a table with Light, Sweet Crude futures delivery dates and resultant tickers for 2009. For an explanation on commodity tickers see commodity ticker construction.

Contract Specifications

Contract Size

One Light, Sweet Crude Oil futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange is 1,000 U.S. barrels (42,000 gallons).^[1]

Tick Value

$0.01 (1¢) per barrel ($10.00 per contract).^[1]

Daily Price Limit

$10.00 per barrel ($10,000 per contract) for all months. If any contract is traded, bid, or offered at the limit for five minutes, trading is halted for five minutes. When trading resumes, the limit is expanded by $10.00 per barrel in either direction. If another halt were triggered, the market would continue to be expanded by $10.00 per barrel in either direction after each successive five-minute trading halt. There will be no maximum price fluctuation limits during any one trading session.^[1]

Trading Hours

• On the CME Globex electronic platform: 6:00 PM until 5:15 PM, Sunday through Friday with a 45-minute break each day between 5:15 PM (current trade date) and 6:00 PM (next trade date), New York Time.^[1]
• Open Outcry (pit session): 9:00 AM until 2:30 PM, New York Time.^[1]

Last Trading Day

Trading terminates at the close of business on the third business day prior to the 25th calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month. If the 25th calendar day of the month is a non-business day, trading shall cease on the third business day prior to the business day preceding the 25th calendar day.^[1]

Deliverable Grades

Specific domestic crudes with 0.42% sulfur by weight or less, not less than 37° API gravity nor more than 42° API gravity. The following domestic crude streams are deliverable: West Texas Intermediate, Low Sweet Mix, New Mexican Sweet, North Texas Sweet, Oklahoma Sweet, South Texas Sweet.

Specific foreign crudes of not less than 34° API nor more than 42° API. The following foreign streams are deliverable: U.K. Brent, for which the seller shall receive a 30 cent per barrel discount below the final settlement price; Norwegian Oseberg Blend is delivered at a 55¢–per–barrel discount; Nigerian Bonny Light, Qua Iboe, and Colombian Cusiana are delivered at 15¢ premiums.^[1]

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} The New York Mercantile Exchange's contract specification for Light Sweet Crude Oil futures