The chart above is the live USOIL price — the US crude oil benchmark, quoted in US dollars per barrel and updating in real time during market hours. USOIL is the ticker symbol most charting platforms use for spot West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, so a USOIL quote and a WTI quote describe the same barrel of oil.
This page explains what the symbol actually represents, how it relates to WTI futures and oil ETFs, and what moves the price from hour to hour. For the full market picture — Brent, the WTI–Brent spread, energy ETFs and futures — see the live US oil price homepage.
What Is USOIL?
USOIL is a spot (or "cash") quote for West Texas Intermediate crude oil. It is derived from the front-month WTI futures contract traded on CME/NYMEX, but presented as a continuous price with no expiry date, which is why it works well as a chart symbol. On TradingView the full symbol is TVC:USOIL; brokers offering CFDs often use plain USOIL or WTIUSD for the same instrument.
Because it is anchored to front-month WTI, the USOIL price normally sits within a few cents of the WTI futures price at any moment. When you read a headline saying "US oil prices fell today," the number quoted is the one on this chart.
USOIL vs. CL Futures vs. the USO ETF
Three commonly confused symbols all track US crude oil, but they are different instruments with different behaviour:
| Symbol | What it is | Expiry | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| USOIL | Spot / CFD quote for WTI crude, derived from front-month futures | None — continuous | Reading the current US oil price and charting long histories |
| CL (CL1!) | The NYMEX WTI futures contract itself, 1,000 barrels per contract | Monthly, delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma | The underlying market where the price is actually set |
| USO | United States Oil Fund, an exchange-traded fund holding oil futures | None, but the fund rolls contracts monthly | Equity-account exposure; it tracks oil loosely, not one-for-one |
The practical difference matters most for USO. Because the fund must sell expiring futures and buy later-dated ones each month, its return drifts away from the spot USOIL price over time — sometimes considerably. USOIL and CL stay closely aligned; USO does not. Our guide to WTI trading fundamentals covers contract sizes, micro futures, and how that roll process works.
USOIL vs. UKOIL: The WTI–Brent Spread
If USOIL is the US benchmark, UKOIL is its international counterpart — Brent crude, priced in the North Sea. The gap between them is the WTI–Brent spread, and it mostly reflects the cost of moving American crude to overseas buyers. When US export capacity is tight or freight rates rise, the spread widens and USOIL trades further below UKOIL. You can watch both quotes side by side, along with the spread chart, on the Brent and WTI–Brent spread section of the homepage.
When Does USOIL Trade?
USOIL follows WTI futures hours on CME Globex: trading opens Sunday at 6:00 PM US Eastern Time and runs until Friday at 5:00 PM ET, pausing for one hour each day at 5:00 PM ET. That near-24-hour schedule is why the quote on this page keeps changing overnight and why a Sunday-evening gap can appear after weekend news.
Liquidity is not evenly spread across those hours. The most active period is the US session, particularly around 10:30 AM ET on Wednesdays when the EIA publishes its weekly petroleum status report, and around the daily NYMEX settlement at 2:30 PM ET.
What Moves the USOIL Price
Day-to-day movement in USOIL comes from a fairly short list of recurring drivers:
Inventory data. The EIA's weekly crude stocks number, and the stock level at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub in particular, is the single most reliable source of intraday volatility. Cushing is where WTI futures are physically delivered, so its tank levels feed directly into the benchmark.
OPEC+ supply decisions. Production quotas set by the OPEC+ group change the global supply balance, and USOIL reprices quickly when the group adds or withholds barrels — see our analysis of OPEC+ strategy and US oil.
US production. Output from the Permian, Eagle Ford and Bakken shale basins determines how much domestic supply reaches the market, and how quickly US producers can respond to higher prices.
The US dollar. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for buyers using other currencies and tends to weigh on USOIL, all else equal.
Geopolitics and shipping routes. Disruption to major supply corridors — the Strait of Hormuz above all — adds a risk premium to the price within minutes, and removes it just as quickly when tensions ease.
Common USOIL Questions
Is USOIL the same as WTI?
Effectively yes. USOIL is a continuous spot quote derived from front-month WTI futures, so the two prices track each other closely. WTI is the name of the crude grade and benchmark; USOIL is the ticker used to chart it.
Why does my broker's USOIL price differ slightly from this chart?
CFD and spot quotes are set by individual providers, each applying its own spread and, for held positions, financing adjustments. Small differences of a few cents between platforms are normal. The underlying market — front-month WTI futures — is the same.
Is USOIL priced per barrel?
Yes. USOIL is quoted in US dollars per barrel, where a barrel is 42 US gallons. See our guide to the oil price per barrel for what that unit means in practice.
Where does the USOIL data on this page come from?
The chart and quote are supplied by TradingView market data. Prices are live during market hours and may be delayed on some feeds outside them.
Disclaimer: This page is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Market data is provided by TradingView and may be delayed.