WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) Expected Move
Expected move estimates the probable price range for a given period based on at-the-money options pricing. It reflects the market consensus for volatility over the selected timeframe.
WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) operates in the Energy Futures sector, specifically the Energy Futures industry, listed on NYMEX. NYMEX WTI Crude Oil futures (CL): the global benchmark for North American crude oil pricing, settling against physically deliverable barrels at Cushing, OK.
Snapshot as of May 14, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $88.75
- Expected Move
- 6.6%
- Implied High
- $94.64
- Implied Low
- $82.86
- Front DTE
- 29 days
As of May 14, 2026, WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) has an expected move of 6.63%, a one-standard-deviation implied price range of roughly $82.86 to $94.64 from the current $88.75. Expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market's pricing of a ±1σ move. Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within this range under lognormal assumptions, though empirical markets have fatter tails.
CL Strategy Sizing to the Expected Move
With WTI Crude Oil Futures pricing an expected move of 6.63% from $88.75, risk-defined strategies sized to the implied range structurally target the modal outcome distribution. Iron condors with wings at the ±1σ expected move boundaries collect premium against the ~68% probability that spot stays inside the range under lognormal assumptions; strangles set wider at ±1.5σ or ±2σ target the tails but pay smaller per-trade premium. Long-vol structures (long straddles, ratio backspreads) profit when realized move exceeds the implied move, the inverse trade: they bet against the lognormal assumption itself, capitalizing on the empirically fatter equity-return tails.
Learn how expected move is reported and how to read the data →
Per-expiration expected move for CL derived from ATM implied volatility at each listed expiration. Implied high/low bounds are computed as $88.75 × (1 ± expected move %). One standard-deviation range under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside.
| Expiration | DTE | ATM IV | Expected Move | Implied High | Implied Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2026 | 1 | 35.0% | 1.8% | $90.38 | $87.12 |
| May 22, 2026 | 8 | 23.8% | 3.5% | $91.88 | $85.62 |
| May 29, 2026 | 15 | 22.4% | 4.5% | $92.78 | $84.72 |
| Jun 5, 2026 | 22 | 23.2% | 5.7% | $93.81 | $83.69 |
| Jun 12, 2026 | 29 | 23.1% | 6.5% | $94.53 | $82.97 |
| Jun 18, 2026 | 35 | 23.3% | 7.2% | $95.15 | $82.35 |
| Jun 26, 2026 | 43 | 22.7% | 7.8% | $95.66 | $81.84 |
| Jul 17, 2026 | 64 | 25.8% | 10.8% | $98.34 | $79.16 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 99 | 24.0% | 12.5% | $99.84 | $77.66 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 127 | 24.4% | 14.4% | $101.52 | $75.98 |
| Nov 20, 2026 | 190 | 25.0% | 18.0% | $104.76 | $72.74 |
| Dec 18, 2026 | 218 | 25.1% | 19.4% | $105.97 | $71.53 |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 246 | 25.0% | 20.5% | $106.97 | $70.53 |
| Mar 19, 2027 | 309 | 24.6% | 22.6% | $108.84 | $68.66 |
| Jan 21, 2028 | 617 | 26.3% | 34.2% | $119.10 | $58.40 |
CL highest implied-volatility contracts
| Type | Strike | Expiration | Volume | OI | IV | Bid | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUT | $95.00 | May 15, 2026 | 0 | 121 | 955.9% | $5.40 | $6.90 |
| PUT | $90.00 | May 15, 2026 | 20 | 404 | 716.6% | $0.35 | $1.65 |
Top 2 contracts from the ORATS-sourced nightly scan; ranked by iv within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked CL expected move questions
- What is the current CL expected move?
- As of May 14, 2026, WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) has an expected move of 6.63% over the next 29 days, implying a one-standard-deviation price range of $82.86 to $94.64 from the current $88.75. The expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market consensus for a ±1σ price move.
- What does the CL expected move mean for traders?
- Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within ±1 expected move and 95% within ±2 under lognormal assumptions, though equity returns have empirically fatter tails than log-normal predicts. Strategies sized to the expected move (iron condors at ±1σ, strangles at ±1.5σ) target the typical outcome distribution; strategies that profit from tail moves (long-vol structures, ratio backspreads) target the tails the lognormal model under-prices.
- How is CL expected move calculated?
- The expected move displayed here is derived from at-the-money implied volatility scaled to the chosen tenor: expected move % is approximately ATM IV times sqrt(T / 365), where T is days to expiration. An equivalent straddle-based form: the ATM straddle (call + put at the same strike) is roughly sqrt(2/pi) times spot times IV times sqrt(T/365), so the implied one-standard-deviation move is approximately 1.25 times ATM straddle divided by spot. The two formulations agree once the sqrt(2/pi) constant is reconciled.