MCL futures: micro crude oil in small steps, explained
MCL is crude oil in a smaller box: 100 barrels instead of 1,000. The chart is the same as CL. The dollars per tick are one tenth.
At a glance
| Item | MCL (Micro WTI crude oil) |
|---|---|
| What it is | A futures contract for 100 barrels of WTI crude oil |
| Tick size | $0.01 per barrel |
| One tick is worth | $1.00 ($100 per $1 move) |
| Busiest hours (ET) | 9:00 am–2:30 pm, especially Wednesday 10:30 am |
| What moves it most | Same as CL: weekly oil stocks, OPEC+, conflict, growth |
| Trading hours | Sunday 6 pm to Friday 5 pm ET, daily break 5–6 pm ET |
Check cmegroup.com for current specs.
MCL and CL: 10 to 1
- CL: 1,000 barrels. $0.01 = $10.
- MCL: 100 barrels. $0.01 = $1.
- 10 MCL = 1 CL in dollar terms.
Here's why that matters. Oil can move $1 or more in a day. On CL that's $1,000 per contract. On MCL, it's $100. For a small plan, MCL may be the only size where the stop goes where the chart says, not where the money forces it.
What moves it
Everything that moves CL moves MCL, cent for cent.
- Wednesday 10:30 am ET: the EIA's weekly US oil stocks report.
- Tuesday 4:30 pm ET: the industry API estimate.
- OPEC+ meetings and output changes.
- Conflict and shipping news near big oil regions.
- Growth worries and the US dollar.
When it's busiest
The main US session, about 9:00 am to 2:30 pm ET, carries most of the volume. Wednesday at 10:30 am ET is the weekly high-energy moment. Evenings and nights are thinner. Because MCL trades less than CL, the gap between buy and sell prices can widen a little at quiet hours.
Its personality
- Oil's speed, small dollars. Headlines still create long candles. Only the dollar size shrinks.
- Monthly expiry. Like CL, a new contract each month. Roll before the last trading day, and check your broker's rules.
- Weekend gaps. Oil can open Sunday far from Friday's close if there was news.
- Good bridge from practice. After paper trading, a $1 tick lets you feel real fills without big swings in dollars.
Reading it with our method
- Bigger chart first. Daily and 4-hour. Mark the last places price turned around.
- Wait for the body. Only a candle body closing past a level counts. Report-day tails don't.
- Stop from the chart. Past the turning point that would prove you wrong.
- Size from the stop. Example: stop $0.50 away = 50 ticks × $1 = $50 per MCL. Plan allows $100? 2 contracts. Check it in the futures tick value calculator. A math example, not a promise.
Set a daily loss limit too. Oil days can be busy, and a cap on the day keeps one rough morning small.
Common mistakes
- Stacking contracts because each one is cheap. 10 MCL is a full CL.
- Forgetting the monthly roll. Check the expiry date every month, not every quarter.
- Fading a report spike too early. Let the candle close before you decide.
- Ignoring fees. Per-contract fees are a bigger share of a $1 tick.
Questions
How much is one tick on MCL worth?
$1. One tick is $0.01 per barrel on 100 barrels.
Is micro crude oil the same as regular crude oil futures?
It follows the same WTI price and chart. It's one tenth the size of CL.
When does MCL expire?
Every month, like CL. Check cmegroup.com or your broker for the exact last trading day.
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