WTI Crude Oil (CL) June (M) 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 June crude contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Apr 18 – May 17
The June contract is a coin flip with a trapdoor. Its record is dead even at 8 up and 8 down, its average change a slim +0.7%, and its median slightly red. What sets it apart is the floor: an average worst point of −12.7%, the deepest of any CL contract, a scar carved mostly by one unforgettable tenure in the spring of 2020.
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.