Oil trading hours: when to trade crude oil

Oil is the bedrock of the global economy, and fluctuations in its price can have widespread economic effects. Read on to discover the trading times of different oil markets, as well as how you can trade oil today.

What are the trading times of oil markets?
You can trade oil spot prices non-stop from 11pm on Sundays to 10pm on Fridays (UK time). Our oil futures on US crude and no lead gasoline are available for nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week – except from 10pm to 11pm – and other oil futures trade from 1am to 11pm (UK time).

IG offers CFD trading on spot crude, oil futures and daily US crude options. Oil options can be traded from 14:30 (UTC+8) to 2.27am (UTC+8). You can find more information about our daily, weekly and monthly options offering on our dedicated options trading page.

CFDs enable you to speculate on the price of oil without having to take ownership or delivery of the underlying market. This means that they can be used to take a position on the price of oil rising (by going long), as well as falling (by going short).

To trade oil today, follow the steps below:
• Create or log in to your IG account
• Understand what moves the price of oil
• Decide whether you want to go long or short
• Take steps to manage your risk
• Open and monitor your position

When is the best time to trade oil?
The best time to trade oil will depend on the current balance between supply and demand in the oil market. Any supply cuts made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will surely cause the price to rise – assuming demand remains the same. Any supply increases will surely cause the price to fall – with consistent demand.

Other factors will also affect the price of oil, such as the strength of the US dollar or any possible trade disputes between key oil producers – such as the US and Russia.
A popular time to trade oil is between 20:00 (UTC+8) and 13.30 (UTC+8) – which is when the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is open, and the market often sees high liquidity.

However, because you can speculate on the price of oil rising and falling with CFDs, there is no one ‘best’ time to trade oil because you have the opportunity to profit from both rising and falling markets. That said, it is still important to carry out your own analysis on the oil markets to help you determine whether the price is going to rise or fall.

What are the ways to trade oil?

You can trade oil with CFDs on spot prices, on oil futures or on oil options.
• Spot prices enable you to take a position on the current market value of oil
• Trading futures enables you to take a position on the price of oil futures rising or falling
• Trading oil options means that you are speculating on the price of oil options
Source: IG Bank