WTI Crude Oil (CL) October (V) 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 October crude contract 2010–2025, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Aug 18 – Sep 17
The October contract splits its record straight down the middle, 8 up and 8 down, but the halves are not equal: its winners have been more than twice the size of its losers, giving it a +2.3% average on a barely positive median. Its other signature is patience. In sixteen years, its high has almost never come early.
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.