Light Oil Price

Oil traders use the Light oil price together with a range of tips and oil news to trade crude oil futures on the US NYMEX futures exchange. Light crude oil prices can fluctuate several percent on any one trading day. Light, sweet crude oil is preferred by refiners because of low sulfur content and relatively high yields of high value products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel.

Light Oil Price and the NYMEX Trading Exchange

Crude oil is the world's most actively traded commodity, and the NYMEX Division light, sweet crude oil futures contract is the world's most liquid forum for crude oil trading.

NYMEX Crude Oil Futures

The NYMEX crude oil futures contract, designed for investment portfolios, is the equivalent of 500 barrels of crude, 50% of the size of a standard futures contract. The contract is available for trading on the CME Globex® electronic trading platform and clears through the NYMEX clearing house.

Light crude oil is crude oil with a low wax content. The clear cut definition of 'light' and 'heavy' crude is hard to find, simply because the classification so made is based more on practical grounds than theoretical. Since crudes with high viscosities are more difficult to transport or pump, those with apparently lighter wax content are referred to as 'light crude' and the ones with substantially more wax are classified as 'heavy crude'.

In the US the price of the front month light sweet crude oil futures contract, traded on the NYMEX commodity exchange is widely reported as a proxy for the cost of imported crude oil. These contracts have delivery dates in all 12 months of the year.

Light Oil Price Historical Chart - January 2008 to Present:

Light Oil Price Historical Chart - January 2007 to January 2008:

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