RBOB Gasoline (RB) April (J) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.
Contract Almanac · RBOB Gasoline
Every April gasoline contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Feb 17 – Mar 16
The April contract is the first summer-grade delivery, leading from mid-February to mid-March as the specification switch and driving-season pricing collide, and its file holds the single worst tenure we have measured in any market: the 2020 run that lost 58.5%, trading 60.9% below its open, as COVID erased driving season while refiners were tooling up for it. Six years later, the 2026 tenure gained 40%. This is that kind of month.
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.