WTI oil trading

What is WTI crude oil?

WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate, the main US crude oil benchmark. It is priced in US dollars per barrel and is a light, low-sulphur grade. Its futures contract is delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma. Brent is the international counterpart, and the two usually move together.

A WTI CFD tracks the price, so you can trade rises and falls without handling any physical oil.

What moves WTI?

Supply and demand do. On supply, the OPEC+ group decides how much its members pump, and a surprise cut or extension can move the price several dollars. US shale output, which responds to price with a delay, caps rallies over time.

On demand, watch global growth, especially China, plus refinery activity and travel. Sanctions, pipeline outages and conflict in producing regions add risk premium. A stronger dollar tends to weigh on oil, because crude is priced in dollars.

In the short run, inventories steer the price. The US Energy Information Administration publishes a weekly petroleum status report, normally on Wednesdays, showing changes in crude stocks. A larger-than-expected build points to oversupply and often pushes WTI lower, while a draw does the opposite.

When is WTI most active?

WTI is most active during the US trading day, when futures trading is deepest. The EIA report at 10:30 US Eastern time on Wednesdays is a regular spike, and the US cash open adds volume.

Asian hours are quieter but can react to OPEC+ headlines. Oil CFDs usually have a daily pause, so check the hours shown in your platform.

How does a barrel move turn into money?

Oil is quoted in dollars per barrel to two decimals. On the sample specification on our energies page the contract size is 1,000 barrels per lot, so a $1 move is worth $1,000 per lot. Smaller lots scale this down. Confirm the contract size in the platform.

What are the risks of trading oil CFDs?

Oil is among the more volatile markets. Headlines about OPEC+, sanctions or supply disruptions can move the price several percent in minutes, and gaps over the weekend are common.

Futures contract rollovers can change the price series your CFD follows, so check how the instrument is rolled in the platform notes. Leverage magnifies every move and losses can exceed your deposit.

Which events should you watch?

Mark these in the economic calendar and add the oil-specific dates yourself.

How do traders approach oil?

Some oil traders focus on the weekly inventory cycle. They read the API estimate on Tuesday evening, then the EIA figure on Wednesday, and compare both with forecasts. The surprise matters more than the number itself.

Others trade the chart around round-number levels such as 70 or 80 dollars, or follow the gap between WTI and Brent. The spread between the two reflects regional supply and shipping, and a wide gap can signal a local issue.

Position size needs care. On a 1,000 barrel contract, a $3 swing, quite ordinary in a day, is $3,000 per lot. Many people trade 0.01 to 0.10 lot as a result.

How does WTI relate to Brent and natural gas?

Brent is the benchmark for seaborne crude in Europe, Africa and Asia. WTI is priced inland at Cushing, so it can diverge when US storage or pipelines are tight. Natural gas follows its own cycle, driven by weather and storage, and does not track crude closely.

Both are covered on the energies page. Do not assume the same stop distance fits all three. Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, refinery outages and winter demand can each shift the balance between them for a few weeks, so check the news for supply interruptions before you open a position.

How do you trade WTI as a CFD with AQ Markets?

AQ Markets offers WTI alongside Brent and natural gas in its energy CFDs on MetaTrader 4 and 5. Spreads, swaps, margin and sessions are set per instrument, so read the specification in the platform first.

Try the pace of an inventory release on a demo account, then review account types for live trading.