CME Group to launch smaller WTI crude oil contract, enable 24/7 trading for gold futures

CME Group has announced plans to introduce a smaller-sized WTI crude oil futures contract and expand trading hours for its 1-Ounce Gold futures contract to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, subject to regulatory approval.

The new 10-Barrel WTI Crude Oil futures contract is scheduled to launch on August 30, while round-the-clock trading for the existing 1-Ounce Gold futures contract is expected to begin on July 26.

According to CME Group, the new crude oil contract

will be one-tenth the size of its existing Micro WTI futures contract. The exchange said the smaller contract size is intended to offer market participants greater flexibility in managing exposure to oil price movements.

The company said both contracts will be available for trading continuously throughout the week, allowing traders to respond to market-moving events as they occur across global time zones.

Derek Sammann, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities Markets at CME Group, said investors are seeking ways to diversify their portfolios amid geopolitical uncertainty. He added that the new contracts are designed to provide continuous access to regulated commodity markets.

WTI crude oil is widely used as a benchmark for global oil pricing and risk management. CME Group said average daily volume in WTI Crude Oil options reached a record 320,000 contracts during the first quarter of 2026.

Average daily volume in Micro WTI Crude Oil futures rose to 2,72,000 contracts in May, up 317% from a year earlier.

In precious metals, CME Group said its benchmark gold futures market recorded approximately $100 billion in notional trading volume per day in 2025. The exchange's cash-settled 1-Ounce Gold futures contract, launched in January 2025, has traded an average of 90,000 contracts per day in 2026.

The new 10-Barrel WTI futures contract will be cash-settled and listed on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), while the 1-Ounce Gold futures contract is cash-settled and listed on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX), both of which operate under CME Group.