USOIL
What USOIL is
USOIL is the symbol many brokers, including Exness, use for a CFD on WTI crude oil. WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate, a light, low-sulphur crude produced in the United States.
A CFD (contract for difference) is an agreement to exchange the change in an asset's price. You never own or receive oil. You gain or lose the difference between your opening and closing price, multiplied by your position size.
WTI is one of the two main global oil benchmarks. The other is Brent, which you can trade as UKOIL (Brent crude). The two usually move in the same direction, but the gap between them changes with transport costs, regional supply and US export flows.
Why Cushing matters
WTI futures on the New York exchange are settled by physical delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma. Cushing is a pipeline and storage hub, so the WTI price reflects oil available in the middle of the US, not oil on a tanker at sea.
This has practical effects:
- When storage at Cushing is close to full, near-month WTI can weaken sharply against later months.
- When stocks at Cushing are low, near-month WTI can trade at a premium.
- Pipeline outages or new pipeline capacity into or out of the hub can move WTI against Brent.
What moves the crude oil price
No single factor sets the crude oil price. Traders usually watch these drivers.
OPEC+ production quotas
OPEC+ is the group of OPEC members plus allied producers such as Russia. It sets production targets at its meetings. Announced cuts, extensions or increases, and reports of members producing above quota, often cause large moves on the day of the decision.
US inventories from the EIA
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes a weekly petroleum status report. It covers crude stocks, stocks at Cushing, gasoline and distillate stocks, refinery runs, production and imports. Markets compare the figures with expectations, so a "build" or "draw" that differs from forecasts can move WTI within seconds. An industry estimate is usually released the evening before.
Refinery demand
Refineries buy crude to make gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Refinery utilisation rises in the summer driving season and falls during maintenance periods. Refining margins, often called crack spreads, show how strongly refiners want crude.
The US dollar
Oil is priced in dollars. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for buyers paying in other currencies, which can weigh on demand. The link is not fixed and can break for long periods.
Geopolitics and supply risk
Conflict in producing regions, sanctions, attacks on shipping routes and hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico can all change supply expectations quickly. These events are hard to anticipate and can cause price gaps.
For economic data timing, Exness provides an economic calendar on the website and in the Exness Trade app. Our fundamental analysis page explains how to read such data.
Futures rolls, contango and backwardation
Oil trades mainly through futures contracts that expire each month. A CFD on oil follows a futures-based price, and this affects you in ways a forex CFD does not.
Contango means later contracts are priced above the near contract. It is common when supply is plentiful and storage costs money.
Backwardation means later contracts are priced below the near contract. It is common when near-term supply is tight.
When the reference contract approaches expiry, the price feed has to move to the next contract. This is the roll. Brokers handle it in different ways:
- Some CFDs follow a specific contract and close or adjust open positions at expiry.
- Some apply a price adjustment so that the jump between contracts does not create an artificial gain or loss.
- Some build the price continuously from more than one contract.
In contango, the next contract is higher, so a position that is rolled can carry a cost for buyers. In backwardation, the opposite applies. These costs are separate from the spread and from overnight swap.
Exness's method for the USOIL reference price and any roll adjustment is not covered by our sourced facts. Check the specification in the platform and the Exness Help Center before you hold a position across a contract change.
USOIL on Exness: what we can confirm
The table shows only conditions we can source from Exness pages. Everything else (contract size, minimum and maximum volume, pip size, trading hours, spread, margin) should be read from the symbol specification in your platform. In MetaTrader, right-click the symbol in Market Watch and open its specification.
| Item | What Exness states |
|---|---|
| Energies on Standard accounts | Standard instruments: forex, metals, cryptocurrencies, energies, stocks, indices |
| Execution on Pro | Instant (forex, metals, energies, stocks, indices), market (cryptocurrencies) |
| Execution on Standard | Market execution |
| Unlimited leverage eligibility list | Forex majors and minors, DXY, USDCNH, HKDJPY, USDHKD, USDTHB; all commodities except XAUUSD247; BTCUSD, BTCUSDT, ETHUSD, ETHBTC |
| Conditions for unlimited leverage | On real accounts: equity below 5,000 USD and at least 10 closed orders totalling 5 lots or more across real accounts |
| Higher margin around news | From 15 minutes before to 90 seconds after high-impact news |
| Swap-free status | By default all accounts are swap-free on listed instruments; the status can be lost; USOIL is on the listed instruments |
| Swap-free for Pakistan clients | Pakistan is on the Islamic-country list; Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan are assigned swap-free status automatically |
| Server time | Differ by underlying instrument; servers run on UTC+0 |
Leverage and swap rules change. Exness lists dated rollouts of dynamic leverage for other instrument groups, so confirm the current USOIL leverage in your Personal Area before you trade. For swaps in general, see swap fees. For Islamic trading, see Islamic finance.
Use the calculators to see what a move costs you before you trade. Enter the contract size from the specification:
Fill in the empty fields to see the result.
Fill in the empty fields to see the result.
For the account types side by side, see account types.
Ready to try it on a real or demo account?
Partner link · trading carries a high risk of loss
Costs to account for
- Spread: the gap between the buy and sell price. Oil spreads can widen around EIA data, OPEC+ decisions and thin trading hours.
- Commission: Standard and Pro accounts state no commission. Raw Spread and Zero charge commission per lot, and the rate varies by instrument. Check it in the specification.
- Swap: an overnight charge or credit unless your account has swap-free status for the symbol.
- Roll effects: see the section above.
Risk on oil CFDs
Oil can move fast and gap over weekends or after unexpected news. With leverage, a small price move can wipe out the margin on a position. Leveraged CFD trading can lose money fast, and many traders lose.
Exness states balance reset to 0 after stop out. That does not prevent losing your whole deposit. Read risk management before sizing any oil position. If you are new to oil, practise on a demo account first.
Legal position in Pakistan
The SBP has said that remitting foreign exchange to overseas forex, margin or CFD platforms is not allowed through any payment channel. The SECP says offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse. Read law and regulators before you decide anything.
Frequent questions
Is USOIL the same as WTI crude oil?
Yes. USOIL is a CFD whose price follows WTI crude. You do not own or take delivery of oil.
What is the difference between USOIL and UKOIL?
USOIL tracks WTI, which is delivered at Cushing in the US. UKOIL tracks Brent, a seaborne benchmark. See UKOIL.
Does USOIL have swap on Exness?
Exness lists USOIL among the instruments covered by swap-free status, and Pakistan clients are assigned that status automatically. The status can be lost, so check your account.
What leverage applies to USOIL?
Exness lists all commodities except XAUUSD247 as eligible for unlimited leverage if account conditions are met. Higher margin applies around news. Confirm the current value in the platform.
How does the futures roll affect my position?
When the reference contract changes, contango or backwardation can cause a price adjustment or cost. Check how Exness handles it in the specification and Help Center.
Where do I find contract size and trading hours?
In the symbol specification in MetaTrader or the Exness terminal. Our energies page covers the other energy CFDs.
