CL tick value
One CL tick (a $0.01 move) is worth $10.00 per contract, and a full $1 move is worth $1,000.00. WTI Crude Oil, traded on NYMEX. Put in your own move and size below.
- Tick size
- 0.01
- Tick value
- $10.00
- Point value (1.00 move)
- $1,000.00
- Ticks in one point
- 100
- Per contract
- $200.00
- Per tick, 1 contract
- $10.00
- Per point, 1 contract
- $1,000.00
- Same move on 1 MCL
- $20.00
Import your trades into Actal and every point is turned into dollars for you, with every broken rule and its cost added up.
Journal for free →What a CL move is worth
Dollars for each move, by number of contracts. Before fees.
| Move | 1 CL | 2 CL | 5 CL | 10 CL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tick ($0.01) | $10.00 | $20.00 | $50.00 | $100.00 |
| $0.10 move | $100.00 | $200.00 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $0.25 move | $250.00 | $500.00 | $1,250.00 | $2,500.00 |
| $0.50 move | $500.00 | $1,000.00 | $2,500.00 | $5,000.00 |
| $1.00 move | $1,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 |
| $2.00 move | $2,000.00 | $4,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $20,000.00 |
CL contract specs
| Exchange | NYMEX |
|---|---|
| Contract | 1,000 barrels of WTI crude oil |
| Tick size | $0.01 |
| Tick value | $10.00 per contract |
| Value of a $1.00 move | $1,000.00 per contract |
| Ticks per $1 move | 100 |
| Micro version | MCL, $1.00 a tick |
Tick size and value are set by the exchange and don't change by session or contract month. Commissions and margin depend on your broker.
CL vs MCL, and what to know
CL is 1,000 barrels, so every cent the oil price moves is $10 a contract and a $1 move is $1,000.
Oil is fast. A 20 cent stop is $200 on one CL. If that's too much, MCL (Micro WTI, 100 barrels) is $1 a tick and $100 per $1 move.
The weekly inventory report on Wednesdays can move oil 30 to 50 cents in a few minutes. That's $300 to $500 per CL, often straight through a stop.
| Tick value | Per $1 move | $0.20 move | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CL | $10.00 | $1,000.00 | $200.00 |
| MCL | $1.00 | $100.00 | $20.00 |
Turning ticks into a position size
contracts = your risk ÷ risk per contract
Work out the stop first, then the size. Never the other way round. The position size calculator does this for CL and every other contract, and tells you when the micro fits better.
Knowing the tick value is the easy part. The part that costs traders money is what happens after two losers: an extra contract, a wider stop, one more trade. A max size rule you check after every session is what keeps the numbers on this page the numbers you actually trade.
Questions people ask
Tick values for other contracts
Import your trades from NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, TopstepX and more. Actal turns every tick into dollars, checks every trade against your rules and adds up what each mistake cost you. Free during beta, no card.
Made by Joakim Jusell, futures trader and coach at Jusell Trading Academy.