Crude Oil WTI Feb '24 (CLG24)
| Barchart Symbol | CL |
| Exchange Symbol | CL |
| Contract | Crude Oil West Texas Intermediate |
| Exchange | NYMEX |
| Tick Size | 1 cent per barrel ($10.00 per contract) |
| Margin/Maintenance | $9,692/8,811 |
| Daily Limit | 15% above or below previous settlement |
| Contract Size | 1,000 U.S. barrels (42,000 gallons) |
| Months | All Months |
| Trading Hours | 5:00p.m. - 4:00p.m. (Sun-Fri) (RTH 8:00a.m. - 1:30p.m.) (Settles 1:30p.m.) CST |
| Value of One Futures Unit | $1,000 |
| Value of One Options Unit | $1,000 |
| Last Trading Day | Trading terminates at the close of business on the third business day prior to the 25th calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month |
Description
Crude oil is petroleum extracted directly from the ground. Crude oil was formed millions of years ago from the remains of tiny aquatic plants and animals that lived in ancient seas. Ancient societies such as the Persians, tenth-century Sumatrans, and pre-Columbian Indians believed that crude oil had medicinal properties. Around 4,000 BC in Mesopotamia, bitumen, a tarry crude, was used as caulking for ships, as a setting for jewels and mosaics, and as an adhesive to secure weapon handles. The walls of Babylon and the famed pyramids were held together with bitumen, and Egyptians used it for embalming. In 19th-century America, a crude oil find was often met with dismay. Pioneers, who dug wells to find water or brine, were disappointed when they struck oil. It wasn't until 1854, with the invention of the kerosene lamp, that the first large-scale demand for petroleum emerged. Crude oil is a relatively abundant commodity. The world has produced approximately 650 billion barrels of oil, but another 1 trillion barrels of proved reserves remain to be extracted. Crude oil was the world's first trillion-dollar industry and accounts for the single largest product in world trade.
Futures and options on crude oil trade at the CME Group and at the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. The CME trades two main types of crude oil: light sweet crude oil and Brent crude oil. The light sweet futures contract calls for the delivery of 1,000 barrels of crude oil in Cushing, Oklahoma. Refiners prefer light sweet crude because of its low sulfur content and relatively high yield of high-value products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel. The Brent blend crude is based on a light, sweet North Sea crude oil. Brent crude production is approximately 500,000 barrels per day and is shipped from Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands.
Prices - CME West-Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices (Barchart.com symbol CL) opened 2025 on a firm note and posted a 1-1/2 year high of $80.77 a barrel in January. However, crude prices reversed and sank to a 5-year low of $55.12 a barrel in April. Weak crude demand in China, the world's second-largest crude consumer, weighed on prices after Chinese customs data showed China's 2024 crude imports fell -1.9% yr/yr to 553 MMT. Also, global tariff turmoil sent crude prices plummeting amid concern that the trade war could escalate and derail economic growth and energy demand. Crude prices also fell after OPEC+ boosted output, aiming to reverse the 2-year production cut and gradually restore 2.2 million bpd of production. OPEC crude production rose to a 2-1/2 year high of 29.10 million bpd in October. Crude prices surged into June after the US and Israel launched joint airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, raising geopolitical risks in the Middle East, where about one-third of the world's oil is produced. Also, easing US-China trade tensions supported crude after the US and China agreed to a partial trade deal. Strength in the US economy also supported prices after US Q3 GDP expanded +4.4% (q/q annualized), the strongest pace in two years. Dollar weakness also boosted crude prices after the dollar index sank to a 4-year low in September. Crude prices zigged lower into Q4 as record US crude production raised concerns about a global supply glut. US crude production rose to a record high of 13.862 million bpd in November. Also, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasted a record global oil surplus of 4.0 million bpd for 2026. Crude oil finished 2025 down -19.9% yr/yr at $57.42 a barrel.
Supply - World crude oil production in 2024 rose by +0.7% yr/yr to 101.039 million bpd. US crude oil production in 2024 rose by +2.2% yr/yr to 13.234 million barrels per day. Alaskan oil production in 2024 fell by -1.1% yr/yr to 421,241 barrels per day, far below the 1988 peak of 2.017 million barrels per day.
Demand - US demand for crude oil in 2024 rose by +1.6% yr/yr to 16.225 million barrels per day. Most of that demand was for US refinery production of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, heating oil, kerosene, asphalt, and lubricants.
Trade - US imports of crude oil in 2024 rose by +1.5% yr/yr to 6.585 million barrels per day, down sharply from the 2005 record high of 10.126 million barrels. US exports of crude oil in 2024 rose by +0.6% yr/yr to 4.106 million barrels per day.
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