CL futures trading hours

CL futures trading hours on CME Globex run from Sunday 6:00 p.m. to Friday 5:00 p.m. ET, with a one-hour break each weekday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. Micro WTI (MCL) trades the same hours. The daily settlement price comes from trades between 2:28 and 2:30 p.m. ET, and each CL contract month stops trading a few business days before the 25th of the previous month.

CL and MCL session times in ET, CT, PT and UTC

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures (CL), often called WTI crude, are listed on NYMEX, one of CME Group's exchanges. WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate, the US crude grade the contract delivers in Cushing, Oklahoma. The Globex week runs Sunday to Friday, 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT, with a halt from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. A new trading day starts in the evening, so the session that opens on Monday at 6:00 p.m. ET counts as Tuesday.

From Friday 5:00 p.m. to Sunday 6:00 p.m. ET, 49 hours, CL does not trade. US clocks go back on Sunday, November 1, 2026, so from that week the open, the settlement window and the break come one hour later in UTC. Hours for every CME product group are on our futures market hours page.

The settlement window: 2:28 to 2:30 p.m. ET

CL keeps trading after 2:30 p.m. ET, but the day's official settlement price is set from Globex trades in a two-minute window. CME staff settle the front month to the volume-weighted average price of trades between 2:28:00 and 2:30:00 p.m. ET. On the last trading day of a contract the expiring month uses a longer window, from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET.

How a prop firm measures a loss limit at the end of the day is explained in our guide to EOD vs intraday drawdown.

CL vs MCL: the contract facts

Micro WTI is one tenth of the standard contract. CL settles by physical delivery of crude oil; MCL settles in cash at the CL price, so no oil changes hands.

A tick is the smallest price step. Crude is quoted in dollars and cents per barrel, so a move from $70.00 to $71.00 is $1,000 on one CL contract and $100 on one MCL.

Price limits

CL and MCL are subject to the special price fluctuation limits of NYMEX Rule 589 and the limits table in Chapter 5 of the NYMEX rulebook. Under Rule 309102.C, MCL's price limits follow those of CL.

Expiry dates and the roll

Crude expires every month, not every quarter like the stock index contracts. Under NYMEX Rule 200102.F, trading in an expiring CL month ends on the third business day before the 25th calendar day of the month before delivery. If the 25th is not a business day, it ends on the third business day before the last business day ahead of the 25th. MCL stops one business day earlier. CL positions still open after the last trading day are settled by delivery of oil, so traders who do not want delivery close or roll them to the next month before then.

CL on the next holidays

CL follows CME's holiday schedule for energy futures. On US holidays when Globex stays open, energy halts at 2:30 p.m. ET, later than the 1:00 p.m. ET halt for stock index futures.

Christmas EveCME's Christmas settlement notice sets the settlement time for energy products at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 24, 2026, an hour earlier than usual. A settlement time is not the same as a trading close. Check CME before you trade that day.

The full list is in the CME holiday calendar 2026 and the CME holiday calendar 2027.

No weekend crude contract

Crude does not trade on CME between the Friday close and the Sunday open. NYMEX had filed a smaller 10-barrel WTI contract that would also have traded at weekends, but on October 2, 2026 CME said it was withdrawing the filing. Details are in our news item on CME withdrawing the 10-barrel crude contract.

What CL hours mean in a prop firm account

CL and MCL are offered in many futures prop firm evaluations, the paid tests on simulated accounts that firms sell. Every firm sets a flat-by time, by which all positions must be closed. It comes before CL's 5:00 p.m. ET close.

CL's dollar value per move matters for a firm's loss limits. On a $2,000 drawdown, a $2.00 move against one CL contract uses the whole allowance; on MCL the same move costs $200. Drawdown types are explained in our guide to trailing drawdown, and which firms let you hold past the close in our guide to prop firm weekend holding. Stock index hours are on our pages on ES futures trading hours and NQ futures trading hours.

Exchange hoursThese are CME Group's exchange hours and rules. A prop firm's own cut-off can be earlier. A prop firm evaluation is a paid service with simulated trading. Most people who buy one do not pass it, and firms change their rules, pause payouts and close. Not investment advice.

Questions

Sources

• NYMEX Rulebook, Chapter 200: Light Sweet Crude Oil futures
• NYMEX Rulebook, Chapter 309: Micro WTI Crude Oil futures
• CME Group: Micro WTI Crude Oil options FAQ (trading hours)
• CME Group: NYMEX energy futures daily settlement procedure
• CME Group: Crude Oil futures
• CME Group: Crude Oil futures calendar (last trade dates)
• CME Group: Micro WTI Crude Oil futures
• CME Group: Holiday and Trading Hours
• CME Group: Christmas holiday settlement times 2026
• CME Group: statement on the 10-Barrel Crude Oil contract, October 2, 2026

CME pages checked on October 3, 2026; holiday hours and firm flat-by times on September 26, 2026, from the firm pages linked above.