Brent Crude Oil (BZ) April (J) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.
Contract Almanac · Brent Crude
Every clean April Brent contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Jan 27 – Feb 23
The April contract inherits the turn-of-year rally in late January and has kept most of the inheritance: 9 of 14 clean tenures higher (64%) with a +3.8% average, the second-best month on the Brent board. Its distinguishing mark is the board’s tightest risk envelope: no tenure in the file ever lost more than 7.2%.
Each year is one contract, measured from the open of the day it took over the lead to the close of the day it handed off, the same roll convention used across all Traders Brief research. One honesty note specific to Brent: the contract’s early CME-era history contains roll irregularities, and those irregular tenures are excluded, leaving 11 to 14 clean observations per month rather than the full 16 available elsewhere. The counts shown are the cleaned record. All highs and lows are the contract’s own trades, marked by trading day of the tenure, not calendar day.