Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures (MCL)

Why Micro WTI exists

A standard CL contract at $90 per barrel controls $90,000 of oil, and a $3 move, not unusual in 2026, changes its value by $3,000. That is too large for many individual traders to size sensibly. CME launched Micro WTI in July 2021 to offer the same benchmark price in a contract one-tenth the size, with smaller margins and exchange fees per contract.

MCL gives smaller traders exposure to the same price as the main WTI crude oil futures market, on a regulated exchange with a central clearing house. Unlike a CFD, the price comes straight from the exchange order book rather than from a broker.

Cash settlement: no delivery risk

CL is physically delivered. If a long CL position stays open past the last trading day, the holder must accept 1,000 barrels at Cushing, Oklahoma. That obligation contributed to the collapse of the May 2020 contract to −$37.63 on 20 April 2020.

MCL avoids this. On its last trading day, open MCL positions are settled in cash against the CL settlement price. Because MCL stops trading one business day before CL, its final price is set while the underlying CL contract is still trading.

Margins

CME Clearing sets initial and maintenance margins for MCL, and brokers can require more. Margins rise when volatility rises: in a year like 2026, when Brent ranged from the low $60s in January to an intraday high of $126 on 30 April, clearing houses raise margin requirements to cover larger daily moves. MCL margins are roughly one-tenth of CL margins because the contract is one-tenth the size. Check the current CME margin schedule and your broker's requirement before trading; this site does not publish margin figures because they change frequently.

What a move is worth

Profit or loss on MCL is the price change times 100 barrels times the number of contracts:

Common uses

• Smaller speculative positions: trading the weekly EIA inventory report or OPEC+ news without CL-sized risk.
• Fine-tuning size: traders who hold CL can add or remove exposure in 100-barrel steps.
• Small business hedges: a company with modest fuel exposure can hedge part of it, although WTI crude is not a perfect hedge for diesel or jet fuel prices.
• Learning futures mechanics: margin, daily mark-to-market and rolling all work as in CL, with smaller dollar amounts.

Liquidity and limitations

MCL is liquid in the front month, but volume and open interest are far below CL, and most activity sits in the nearest one or two contracts. Further-dated MCL months can have wide bid-ask spreads. Traders who need longer-dated exposure or calendar spreads often use CL instead. Like all futures, MCL must be rolled to keep exposure beyond expiry; see oil futures rollover.

MCL is a WTI contract. For international prices, the ICE Brent crude futures contract is 1,000 barrels, and Brent exposure in smaller sizes is usually reached through ETFs or CFDs.

Micro futures are still leveraged. A $10 move, smaller than Brent's one-day fall of more than 13% in April 2026, is $1,000 per MCL contract and can exceed the margin deposited. This page is educational and not a recommendation to trade.