WTI Crude Oil Futures: CL, MCL, Tick Value and Delivery

Identify CL and MCL before doing any calculation

West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, is the crude-oil benchmark underlying NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil futures. The standard contract uses the root CL. The smaller Micro WTI contract uses MCL. A platform normally adds month and year information to that root, so “CL” alone does not identify a tradable expiry.

The current CME Micro WTI comparison states that CL represents 1,000 barrels and MCL represents 100 barrels. Both use a minimum price increment of $0.01 per barrel. Multiplying the quoted increment by contract size produces a $10 tick for CL and a $1 tick for MCL. MCL is one tenth of the standard contract by size; it is a separate listed instrument rather than 0.1 of a CL order.

CL and MCL contract fields to verify

Field	WTI Crude Oil (CL)	Micro WTI (MCL)
Exchange	NYMEX	NYMEX
Contract size	1,000 barrels	100 barrels
Minimum quoted move	$0.01 per barrel	$0.01 per barrel
Value of one minimum tick	$10 per contract	$1 per contract
Final settlement	Physical delivery under the CL rules	Financial settlement
Trading-termination relationship	CL schedule controls	Trading terminates one business day before corresponding CL

These specifications were checked on 21 September 2026. Use CME's current product page, expiration calendar and your broker's instrument record for an actual order. A familiar symbol shown by a broker can describe a CFD or another product whose multiplier, funding and settlement do not match NYMEX futures.

Calculate tick value, price movement and notional separately

For a linear WTI futures position, the gross price-movement amount is:

signed price change per barrel × barrels per contract × number of contracts.

The equivalent tick form is:

signed number of ticks × tick value per contract × number of contracts.

Suppose one long CL contract moves from $70.00 to $70.18 per barrel. The $0.18 change contains 18 minimum ticks. Eighteen multiplied by $10 gives a gross $180 favorable movement before fees and execution differences. One long MCL over the same quoted move changes by 18 × $1 = $18. A short position reverses the sign.

CME's futures profit-and-loss lesson explains the same relationship among price change, contract size and tick value. Use the futures position-size calculator only after confirming the exact tick value and stop distance. Its output is a planning calculation, not an order or loss limit.

Notional value asks a different question. At an illustrative $70 price, one CL contract references 1,000 × $70 = $70,000 of crude oil, while one MCL references 100 × $70 = $7,000. Notional is not the amount paid upfront, the current margin requirement or the maximum possible loss. It is the contract's referenced value at the stated price.

Keep margin outside the tick calculation

Margin is collateral required to carry a futures position. Exchanges, clearing arrangements and brokers can change requirements, apply add-ons or use different intraday and overnight schedules. The static margin figures in CME's original 2021 Micro WTI FAQ are dated and are deliberately not repeated here as current requirements.

A position can fit a hypothetical stop-distance budget and still fail a broker margin check. It can also pass a margin check while exposing the account to a price movement larger than the trader intended. Record the current margin source and time separately from multiplier, tick and notional. Read the futures margin guide for the distinction between collateral and market loss.

Stops do not make the calculated amount a guaranteed maximum. A gap, fast market, unavailable price, rejection or stop-limit that remains unfilled can produce a different exit. Commission, exchange, clearing, data and currency-conversion charges also sit outside the simple gross movement formula.

Understand why CL delivery risk is operational

CL is not merely cash-settled to a final chart value. The current NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil rulebook chapter states that open positions remaining after the last trading day proceed to delivery unless resolved through the permitted post-expiry process. The rules specify delivery at qualifying pipeline or storage facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma, and require clearing-member notices, scheduling, margin and payment steps.

The rulebook sets termination of trading on the third business day before the twenty-fifth calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month, with adjustments when that date is not a business day. Holiday changes and the listed contract schedule make mental date arithmetic unsafe. Use the official CME expiration calendar for the exact contract, then check whether the broker imposes an earlier liquidation or position-reduction deadline.

Physical delivery does not mean a retail customer should expect barrels to arrive at a residence. The exchange process operates through clearing members and qualifying Cushing infrastructure. The practical risk is that an account may be unable or unauthorized to carry the position, may face an earlier broker deadline, or may be closed under broker rules. A generic calendar reminder cannot replace the account's actual cutoff.

Do not transfer CL expiry rules to MCL

MCL is financially settled. Under the current NYMEX Micro WTI rulebook chapter, trading terminates one business day before trading terminates in the corresponding CL contract. Its smaller size and cash settlement remove the standard contract's physical-delivery obligation, but they do not make MCL interchangeable with CL. The roots, quantities, final trading times and resulting cash amounts differ.

A rollover also requires two completed transactions: closing or reducing the old month and establishing the intended new month. A chart that switches its displayed “front month” does not modify an open position. If either leg rejects or fills partially, source and follower accounts can finish with different months or total exposure.

The first-notice and last-trade reference explains why exchange dates and broker cutoffs need separate fields. The cash-versus-physical settlement guide compares the lifecycle after the last trade.

Map exposure instead of copying the visible number

One CL and one MCL both display a quantity of one, but their tick values differ by a factor of ten. If a workflow intentionally maps one CL to ten MCL, it should state that rule explicitly and test the destination's maximum quantity, margin, price grid and available contract month. Ten separate destination contracts can also produce different total fees and fill behavior from one standard contract.

Preflight checks for copying a WTI futures order

Check	Evidence to capture	Failure prevented
Instrument identity	Venue, CL or MCL root, full month and year	Wrong product or wrong expiry
Exposure	Barrels, tick size, tick value and quantity rule	Tenfold sizing mismatch
Order compatibility	Supported order type, price grid and session state	Rejected or rounded instruction
Lifecycle	Last trade, broker cutoff, settlement and roll plan	Unplanned delivery or stale month
Reconciliation	Source instruction, follower acknowledgement, fills, fees and resulting positions	Hidden partial or failed copy

This page does not claim that TradeCopier supports every WTI venue, broker, account type, order type or lifecycle event. Confirm current product scope and run a controlled test on the exact connection. A successful opening order does not prove that modifications, partial fills, cancellations, rollover or expiry handling will behave identically.

Use a reproducible WTI contract worksheet

1. Record the broker's full displayed symbol and the exchange product it represents.
2. Save the contract month, size, minimum tick, tick value, settlement type and currency with official source links.
3. Calculate notional, one-tick exposure and the chosen stop scenario as separate rows.
4. Record current exchange dates and the broker's earlier cutoff, including timezone.
5. Define how CL and MCL quantities map, round and cap on every destination account.
6. Test opening, modification, partial close, cancellation and disconnect handling at controlled size.
7. Reconcile positions and cash after every roll or expiry-related action.

This worksheet gives an auditor enough information to reproduce the arithmetic and identify a symbol or lifecycle mismatch. It does not forecast crude-oil prices or choose a position. The CFTC futures overview emphasizes understanding contract obligations and the possibility of losses beyond the initial amount deposited.