WTI Crude Oil (CL) August (Q) 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 August crude contract 2010–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Jun 18 – Jul 17
The August contract is mid-summer’s steady hand, and it owns the largest file on the board at 17 tenures. It has finished higher in 11 of them (65%) with a +3.5% median, quietly the second-best win rate on the CL calendar. It leads from mid-June to mid-July, peak driving season, when demand is at its most measurable and the surprises have mostly been macro ones.
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.