WTI Crude Oil (CL) September (U) 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 September crude contract 2010–2025, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Jul 18 – Aug 17
The September contract has the worst win rate on the CL board, higher in just 6 of 16 tenures, and it loses with a signature: it leaks late. The median low of this tenure prints on trading day 15.5, deeper into the run than any other CL month, as the market spends August pricing the end of driving season onto whoever is holding the front.
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.