WTI Crude Oil (CL) March (H) 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 March crude contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Jan 18 – Feb 15
The March contract inherits the board in mid-January with the turn-of-year rally usually already running, and its record shows what inheritance looks like: a solid 10 of 16 winners, but a modest 1.6% average, because this contract tends to make its money early and give a piece of it back late. Of all the CL months, this is the one whose finish is least like its start.
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.