Oil futures (like WTI crude on NYMEX) trade nearly 24 hours a day from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, with a brief daily maintenance halt.

Core market hours

  • WTI crude oil futures typically open for the week on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) and trade through Friday at 4:00 p.m. CT.
  • From Monday through Thursday there is a 60‑minute daily pause from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT; trading then reopens at 5:00 p.m. CT each of those days.

Other major venues

  • On ICE, the WTI crude futures contract trades electronically with hours shown by city; for New York, the regular session runs from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time, with a short pre‑open before the session.
  • Broker and CFD platforms may show slightly different “oil futures” hours depending on whether they offer futures, spot, or synthetic products, but most mirror the main exchange sessions described above.

Quick reference table (CT)

SessionOpensClosesNotes
Weekly openSunday 5:00 p.m.Friday 4:00 p.m.Nearly continuous trading Sun–Fri.
Daily pause4:00 p.m.5:00 p.m.No trading during this 1‑hour window Mon–Thu.
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Always confirm hours on your specific broker or exchange calendar, since daylight‑saving changes and venue‑specific rules can slightly shift displayed times.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.