Energy

WTI crude oil trading: the US benchmark and delivery

WTI is a US light sweet crude benchmark, not a synonym for oil. Storage, inland logistics and the futures expiry sit inside the price. A Brent quote, a fuel price and an oil company’s share are different objects.

Written by WiT Markets EditorialReview Editorially reviewedLast reviewed

A Suncor Energy crude oil storage tank farm near Guernsey, Wyoming.
Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.

Market overview

The listed WTI future is a NYMEX contract. Holding it into the delivery process is a physical obligation, which is why most financial users close or roll beforehand. The expiry is a date, not a suggestion.

A research note that says oil or crude oil does not say WTI. Those providers are shown separately, as unspecified oil, rather than as confirmed WTI access.

What tends to move it

US inventories

Stocks and spare storage change how tight the inland market is.

Refinery runs

Crude is an input. Product demand pulls it through the refinery.

Logistics

Pipelines and the Cushing hub can separate WTI from seaborne crudes.

Geopolitics

A disruption elsewhere can still reprice the benchmark.

Ways to take the exposure

These are different legal positions. A platform may offer one and not the others. Nothing here is available in every country.

WTI futures

A named month. Margin, expiry and delivery rules.

Funds

Usually rolling futures. The curve is part of the return.

Energy equities

A company. Its costs and reserves are not the prompt crude price.

CFDs

No delivery. The firm defines the underlying.

Contract specifications

CME Group

Contract unit, tick and margin are on the exchange page. They are not reprinted here.

Read the exchange page

Illustrative contract value

Enter the exchange’s price unit, contract size and tick value yourself. Nothing here is a live quote or a margin rate. The arithmetic is valid only when the price and the contract size use the units in that specification. If the contract quotes in cents or in an index, enter the price in that quote unit.

Illustrative notional
Enter the fields
One tick, selected contracts
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Selected tick movement
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What the costs usually are

Commission and exchange fees on a future. The roll if you extend. Spread and financing on a CFD. Do not treat those as the same tariff.

What a headline commission leaves out of the bill separates the commission from the spread, financing and other charges.

Risks that belong to this market

Expiry

Delivery rules apply if you stay in the contract.

Basis

Another crude can trade far from WTI when logistics bind.

Curve

An upward-sloping curve makes rolling a long position a cost.

Providers in the commodities directory

The rows come from the existing commodities research note. No second provider list was created. No commercial relationship is recorded on these rows, so the button goes to the firm’s own site. This is not a ranking.

No provider is marked as confirmed for this commodity. A named row means the existing research note uses the commodity’s name. An oil row means the note says oil or crude without saying WTI or Brent. A group row means the firm was filed under the category only. Regions are mentions in that note, not a check that you can open an account.

C

City Index

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Gold, oil and other commodity CFDs/spread bets by region

Pricing line. Spread-based; region/product-specific

Platforms. City Index Web Trader; mobile; MT4; TradingView in selected regions

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
DEGIRO logo

DEGIRO

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Commodity ETFs/ETCs such as oil and precious-metals products; exchange products vary by market

Pricing line. Low-cost transaction model; product/exchange-specific fees

Platforms. Web; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
eToro logo

eToro

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Gold, oil, copper and other commodities primarily via CFDs; commodity ETFs can offer non-CFD exposure

Pricing line. Spread/overnight/product-specific fees

Platforms. Web; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
FOREX.com logo

FOREX.com

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

A published range includes crude oil, natural gas, corn and metals.

Pricing line. Spread-based commodity CFDs; financing can apply

Platforms. FOREX.com proprietary; TradingView; MT5/MT4 depending region

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
FP Markets logo

FP Markets

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Oil, gas, corn, sugar and precious metals among broader commodity CFDs

Pricing line. Spread/commission account structures

Platforms. MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView; IRESS in selected regions

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
OANDA logo

OANDA

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Hard and soft commodity CFDs including oil, copper, natural gas, corn plus precious metals

Pricing line. Spread-based commodity/metal CFDs

Platforms. OANDA web/mobile; MT4; MT5; TradingView

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Plus500 logo

Plus500

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Gold, silver, oil, Brent, heating oil, copper, aluminium and other commodity CFDs

Pricing line. Spread/financing-based CFD pricing; regional products differ

Platforms. Proprietary web/mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Trading 212 logo

Trading 212

Note says oil, not WTI or Brent

Crude oil, Brent, gold, silver and other commodity/futures CFD instruments plus listed ETFs/ETCs

Pricing line. Commission-free Invest on supported securities; CFD spreads/overnight financing; FX charges can apply

Platforms. Web; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
AvaTrade logo

AvaTrade

Group listing only

Metals, energy and agricultural commodity CFDs depending entity

Pricing line. Spread-based; product/entity-specific fees

Platforms. WebTrader; AvaTrade app; MT4; MT5; AvaOptions

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Capital.com logo

Capital.com

Group listing only

65+ commodity CFDs provider-stated across metals, energy and soft/agricultural markets

Pricing line. Spread-based, no commission on cited CFD proposition; other costs apply

Platforms. Capital.com web/mobile; TradingView; MT4/MT5 on current international page

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
CMC Markets logo

CMC Markets

Group listing only

Commodity CFDs across metals, energy and soft commodities; investing offering differs by region

Pricing line. Spread-based CFD pricing; investing fees region-specific

Platforms. Next Generation; MT4/MT5 in selected regions; mobile/web

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
IG logo

IG

Group listing only

Commodities including metals, energy and other markets mainly through CFDs/spread betting, plus region-specific investing products

Pricing line. Spread/commission by product/entity

Platforms. IG web/mobile; MT4 in selected regions; ProRealTime integrations

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Interactive Brokers logo

Interactive Brokers

Group listing only

Energy, metals, agriculture and related commodity products via futures, ETFs/ETPs and metals

Pricing line. Product/exchange commissions + market-data fees; fund/ETF pricing varies

Platforms. Trader Workstation; IBKR Desktop; Client Portal; GlobalTrader; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Pepperstone logo

Pepperstone

Group listing only

40 spot commodity markets across metals, energies and softs on cited UK page

Pricing line. Spread-based; Razor pricing applies to some products

Platforms. Pepperstone platform; MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Saxo logo

Saxo

Group listing only

Commodity CFDs, futures, options, spot metals and ETCs across energy, metals and agriculture

Pricing line. Tiered commissions/spreads by product and account tier

Platforms. SaxoInvestor; SaxoTrader; web/mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website

Compare selected providers

Select two or three providers. The limit is three.

Calculators

Each tool starts from numbers you type. This page does not send a contract size or a live price into them.

Position size

You type the contract multiplier. This page does not insert one.

Open

Futures margin

Tick value and margin come from the specification you enter.

Open

Risk and reward

A planned payoff. It does not grade the trade.

Open

Profit and loss

A result from prices you type.

Open

Stop and target

Distances you choose, not a market order.

Open

Trading journal

A record of trades you enter.

Open

Trading performance

Figures from the journal, not from a feed.

Open

What a commission leaves out

How spread, fees and financing sit beside a headline commission.

Open

Oil is not a ticker

WTI answers a US inland question. Brent answers a waterborne question. A product labelled oil answers neither until it names the benchmark and the month.

The provider list splits firms that the directory names only as oil from anything more specific. WTI itself is not marked confirmed unless the note says WTI, Cushing or light sweet crude.

Questions

Is WTI the same as Brent?

No. They are different benchmarks and can diverge.

What happens at expiry?

The contract’s delivery rules take over unless the position is closed or rolled. Read them before the notice period.

Sources and review

Written by: WiT Markets Editorial. Writes and structures WiT Markets pages. Separates a sourced fact from a cell that is Not confirmed.

Review: Editorially reviewed. This is not a qualified specialist review and it is not a legal sign-off.

Last reviewed: . Next review due . The date is an editorial pass. It is not a live check of every third-party fee.

Other sources

Methodology. Editorial policy. Corrections. Report an error.

WTI crude oil trading: futures, Cushing and brokers | WiT Markets