RBOB Gasoline August (Q) Contract

RBOB Gasoline (RB) August (Q) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.

Contract Almanac · RBOB Gasoline

The August Contract (RBQ): A 17-Year Study

Every August gasoline contract 2010–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Jun 18 – Jul 17

The August contract holds the board’s biggest file at 17 tenures, and a good one: 11 winners, a +4.9% median, and, as of three weeks ago, a fresh record at the top. The 2026 tenure, which handed off in mid-July, gained 17%, the best August in the file, as this summer’s refining squeeze spilled from diesel into the whole product complex.

How this study is measured

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.

Record
11 / 6
65% finished higher
Avg change
+3.0%
median +4.9%
Avg best point
+9.2%
peak vs tenure open
Avg worst point
−5.8%
trough vs tenure open

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