WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) Open Interest History
Open interest tracks the total number of outstanding options contracts. Rising OI alongside price moves can indicate growing commitment to the trend; declining OI suggests positions are being closed.
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
- Call OI
- 46.4K
- Put OI
- 46.7K
- Total OI
- 93.1K
- Put/Call Ratio
- 0.09
As of May 14, 2026, WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) has 93.1K total contracts outstanding across all expirations. Put/call OI ratio is 1.01 (balanced positioning). Open interest reflects accumulated positions from prior sessions; persistent growth indicates sustained directional or hedging interest, while sharp drops typically mean post-expiration clean-up.
How CL open interest history Data Feeds Strategy Selection
Strategy selection on WTI Crude Oil Futures options does not derive from any single metric in isolation. The open interest history view above sits inside a broader read: ATM IV currently sits at 23.1% and dealer gamma exposure is positive, so dealer hedging is mechanically mean-reverting. Combine the open interest history data here with the volatility-skew surface, dealer-gamma exposure, max-pain level, and upcoming-events calendar to build a positioning thesis. Risk-defined structures (credit spreads, debit spreads, iron condors) are usually safer than naked positions while the regime is uncertain; the data on this page anchors the inputs but does not by itself constitute a trade thesis.
Learn how open interest is reported and how to read the data →
CL highest open-interest 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 oi within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked CL open interest history questions
- What is the current CL options open interest?
- As of May 14, 2026, WTI Crude Oil Futures (CL) has 93.1K total contracts outstanding across all listed expirations, split as 46.4K calls and 46.7K puts. Open interest reflects accumulated positions from prior trading sessions; it does not include today's volume until end-of-day reconciliation.
- What is the CL put/call open interest ratio?
- Put/call OI ratio of 1.01 is balanced.
- What does CL open interest tell traders?
- Persistent OI growth indicates sustained directional or hedging interest; sharp drops typically mean post-expiration position cleanup. Heavy OI concentrations at specific strikes act as support and resistance levels because dealer hedging amplifies near those strikes - the gamma profile of the dealer book is concentrated there. Comparing today's volume to standing OI separates opening flow from closing flow.