The crude oil delivery date refers to the date when both parties to the crude oil transaction agree to exchange payments. The transfer of physical commodities between the seller and buyer of a futures contract. In crude oil trading, individual investors do not have the right to keep their positions until the last delivery date. If they do not close their positions on their own, their positions will be forcibly closed by the exchange, and all consequences will be borne by the investors themselves; they can only apply to the exchange. Only spot companies that are qualified and approved for hedging can keep their positions until the last delivery date and enter the delivery process, because they have the needs and qualifications for hedging.

The U.S. crude oil futures we usually refer to refer to the WTI crude oil contract listed on the New York Mercantile Exchange, that is, U.S. West Texas Light Crude Oil. The specific delivery date setting is:

If the 25th of the month is a working day, then the last trading day of the WTI contract of the first month of the month is the third trading day before the 25th; if the 25th of the month is a non- working days, then the last trading day of the first-month WTI contract of the month is the third trading day counting from the last trading day before the 25th; usually around the 20th of each month.

There will be a large number of crude oil futures contracts expiration and liquidation before the crude oil delivery date, which will lead to short-term price fluctuations. This fluctuation is not caused by market fundamentals, but is caused by short-term mandatory liquidation and transfer contracts. . Short-term fluctuations will not change the current trend, but short-term price fluctuations can be used for reverse speculative trading.

——Chen Hanwei