Quick answer: A retail oil trade is a CFD on the price of crude: you buy or sell a number of lots of USOIL.sp or UKOIL.sp, and every 0.01 change in price moves your profit or loss by USD 10 per lot, with no barrels changing hands.
USOIL.sp tracks West Texas Intermediate and UKOIL.sp tracks Brent, the two main crude benchmarks; the USOIL and UKOIL instrument pages cover how they differ. This guide starts where those pages stop: reading the specification, sizing a position, and managing it around the hours and events that move crude.
Reading the Contract Specification
The contract specification tells you what one lot is, how small a price step can be and how much margin a position locks. For USOIL.sp and UKOIL.sp at FXPrimus, three fields carry the same values:
| Field | USOIL.sp | UKOIL.sp | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digits | 2 | 2 | Instrument page; MT5 Specification window |
| Contract size | 1000 | 1000 | Instrument page; MT5 Specification window |
| Margin | 1% | 1% | Instrument page; MT5 Specification window |
In MT4 or MT5, right-click the symbol in Market Watch and choose Specification. The window also shows the minimum and step volume, the trading sessions and the swap settings for your account. Spreads and commissions vary by account type, so read the current values on the instrument page and in the platform rather than relying on a figure from an article.
What One Point Is Worth
With 2 digits, the smallest price change is 0.01. Multiply that by the 1000-barrel contract and each point carries USD 10 per lot. A full USD 1.00 move in the oil price is 100 points, or USD 1,000 per lot.
| Position size | Value of 0.01 (1 point) | Value of a USD 1.00 move |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 lot | USD 10 | USD 1,000 |
| 0.10 lot | USD 1 | USD 100 |
| 0.01 lot | USD 0.10 | USD 10 |
Oil can travel a dollar or more in a session, so trading crude oil at a full lot puts four-figure sums in play quickly. Most retail sizing happens at the 0.01 to 0.10 end of the table.
Choosing a Lot Size From Risk and Stop Distance
The step most guides on how to trade oil skip is sizing. Size an oil position from the amount you are willing to lose and the distance to your stop, then let the lot size fall out of the arithmetic. Using the USD 10 per point figure:
Lot size = Risk amount ÷ (Stop distance in points × USD 10)
Example 1. You are willing to risk USD 200 and your stop sits USD 0.80 from entry, which is 80 points. 200 ÷ (80 × 10) = 0.25 lots. If the stop is hit, the loss is USD 200 before costs.
Example 2. You are willing to risk USD 50 and the chart calls for a wider stop of USD 1.50, or 150 points. 50 ÷ (150 × 10) = 0.0333, which rounds down to 0.03 lots. The loss at the stop is USD 45, under your limit. Always round down; rounding up would breach the risk amount you set.
The second example shows the trade-off a wide stop forces. The same chart idea on a smaller budget means a much smaller position, and if even the minimum volume risks more than your limit, the trade does not fit the account. Our guide to risk management in forex covers how to choose the risk amount itself.
The Margin a Position Ties Up
Margin is the collateral locked while the position is open. For both oil instruments it follows one formula:
Margin = Contract size × Price × Lots × 1%
Worked at two illustrative prices:
| Example price | Margin per 1.00 lot | Margin for 0.25 lots | Margin for 0.03 lots |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD 60.00 | USD 600 | USD 150 | USD 18 |
| USD 80.00 | USD 800 | USD 200 | USD 24 |
Because price sits inside the formula, margin on the same lot size rises when oil is more expensive. Margin is not the risk on the trade; the stop distance is. Margin only tells you how much free margin remains for other positions and for absorbing losses.
Trading Hours, the Daily Break and Rollover
Oil does not trade around the clock. The US crude futures that oil CFD prices are typically built on pause for about an hour each weekday from 17:00 New York time, and CFD quotes usually pause with them. Crude oil trading time on your platform is listed under Specification → Sessions, shown in server time.
Check that tab before searching for Brent crude oil trading hours elsewhere, because server time may not match your local clock and can shift when daylight saving changes in Europe or the US. Positions held through the daily rollover may pay or earn a swap, shown in the same Specification window.
Why Oil Gaps Between Sessions
A gap is a jump between the last price before a pause and the first price after it. Oil gaps most often over the weekend, when news keeps arriving while the market is shut, and less often across the daily break.
A stop does not fill at its level when the market opens past it; it fills at the first available price. Take a long at 62.00 with a stop at 61.20 on 0.25 lots, a planned loss of USD 200. If Monday opens at 60.70, the stop fills there and the loss is USD 325, 1.6 times the plan. Holding over a weekend means accepting that the stop is a target, not a guarantee. Our guide to take-profit and stop-loss orders explains how stops are triggered and filled.
The Weekly Events That Move Crude
Several US data releases arrive on fixed weekdays and regularly move oil within minutes. Check them on the FXPrimus economic calendar at the start of each week, along with irregular events such as producer group meetings.
| Release | Usual day and time (New York) | What it reports |
|---|---|---|
| API Weekly Statistical Bulletin | Tuesday, about 16:30 | Industry estimate of US crude and product inventories |
| EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report | Wednesday, 10:30 | Official US crude stocks, production, refinery runs |
| Baker Hughes Rig Count | Friday, about 13:00 | Number of active US drilling rigs |
| CFTC Commitments of Traders | Friday, 15:30 | Futures positioning by trader type, as of the previous Tuesday |
Holiday weeks move these: the EIA report often shifts to Thursday, and the API bulletin moves to Wednesday after a Monday holiday. The calendar shows the confirmed slot. If you are new to reading one, start with how to use economic calendars.
Managing a Position Through a Scheduled Release
A scheduled release is a known moment of higher risk, so decide what to do with an open position before it arrives, not during it. A crude oil trading strategy that works in quiet hours can behave very differently in the two minutes after the EIA report.
You have four practical choices. Close before the release and re-enter afterwards if the setup still holds. Reduce size so the same stop risks less money. Keep the position with the stop where it is, accepting that slippage can push the fill past it. Or, for a new trade, wait until the first minutes have passed and spreads have settled. Pending orders placed just before a release can fill at prices well away from the order level.
What the release says matters less than how far price travels while you hold a position you never sized for it.
How to Trade Oil: FAQ
How do you trade crude oil as a beginner?Open a demo account, pick USOIL.sp or UKOIL.sp, read the Specification window, and size each trade from a fixed risk amount and a stop distance. With 2 digits and 1000 barrels per lot, each 0.01 move equals USD 10 per lot.
How much is one point on USOIL.sp?One point is 0.01. Because one lot is 1000 barrels, a point comes to USD 10 per lot, USD 1 per 0.10 lot and USD 0.10 per 0.01 lot.
How much margin does an oil trade need?Multiply contract size by price by lots by 1%. At an example price of USD 60.00, one lot ties up USD 600 and 0.25 lots ties up USD 150.
What are Brent crude oil trading hours?Check Specification → Sessions for UKOIL.sp on your platform, shown in server time. Oil prices generally pause for a short daily break and close over the weekend.
What is crude oil spread trading?The term can mean trading the difference between two oil contracts, or simply the bid-ask spread you pay on entry. For the second, the current spread for your account type is shown on the instrument page and in the platform.
Why did my oil stop loss fill at a worse price?Usually because price gapped past the stop after a pause or jumped on a data release. A stop becomes a market order once triggered and fills at the next available price.
The Takeaway
Learning how to trade oil on a retail account comes down to three numbers and a calendar: 2 digits, 1000 barrels per lot, a 1% margin requirement, and the weekly releases that move price. Size from risk and stop distance, check the sessions before holding overnight, and plan around scheduled releases. A PrimusDEMO account lets you open both oil specifications and practise sizing before real money is involved.
→ View USOIL.sp | → Open a demo account
Risk disclosure. This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial advice, legal advice or tax advice. Trading oil, forex and CFDs carries a high risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Prices used in the examples are illustrative and are not forecasts. Specification values are as the company states them on its instrument pages, checked October 2026; spreads and commissions vary by account type. Review the full terms and conditions, the Client Agreement and the Risk Disclosure before trading.