WTI Crude Oil (CL) January (F) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.
Contract Almanac · WTI Crude Oil
Every January crude contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Nov 18 – Dec 16
The January contract closes out crude’s year, taking the board in mid-November and handing off just before the holidays. It has been the hardest seat in the back half of the CL calendar: down 9 of its 16 tenures, averaging a 2.6% loss, with a deeper average trough than any neighboring month. Whatever autumn weakness crude carries, this contract is usually the one holding it at the end.
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. Tenure lengths vary by a few trading days from year to year, so day counts differ slightly at the tail. All highs and lows are the contract’s own trades, marked by trading day of the tenure, not calendar day.