How to Trade WTI (CL) (CL)

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) launched WTI crude oil futures contracts in 1983, with physical delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma. This established WTI as the primary oil price benchmark for the Americas. NYMEX was later acquired by CME Group in 2008.

WTI reached an all-time high of $147.27 per barrel in July 2008, driven by surging demand from China and India along with heavy speculative trading in commodities. The subsequent global financial crisis caused prices to collapse to $30 within 6 months.

Rapid growth in US shale oil production created oversupply. OPEC refused to cut output and instead engaged in a price war to pressure shale companies. WTI fell to a 12-year low of $26 per barrel before OPEC eventually agreed to production cuts.

On April 20, 2020, the WTI May futures contract plunged to an unprecedented -$37.63 per barrel. The COVID-19 pandemic caused demand to collapse while storage at Cushing, Oklahoma reached full capacity. Contract holders had to pay others to take the oil off their hands.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions drove WTI prices close to $130 per barrel in March 2022 — the highest level since 2008. The Biden administration responded by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help lower prices.