Mumbai, November 12, 2026: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has announced significant changes to its WTI Crude Oil derivatives contract specifications, aimed at enhancing trading flexibility, improving risk management and reducing transaction costs for market participants.
The revised framework will come into effect from November 27, 2026, covering the December 2026 contract series and subsequent monthly contracts. The changes are expected to make the commodity derivatives segment more accessible and attractive to brokers, traders, hedgers and investors.
The BSE WTI Crude Oil contract is linked to the globally recognised West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil benchmark traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). It is cash-settled, enabling participants to gain exposure to international crude oil price movements without the requirement of physical delivery.
Key Changes in Contract Specifications
One of the major changes is the renaming of the existing contract symbol WTICRUDE to CRUDEOIL for both Futures and Options on Futures contracts. The simplified naming convention is expected to make contract identification easier for market participants.
BSE has also revised the options expiry structure. The expiry of WTI Crude Oil Options on Futures will now take place five business days before the underlying Futures contract expiry, compared with the earlier timeline of two business days. This will provide traders with additional time to manage positions, plan rollovers and execute risk management strategies.
Another significant enhancement is the expansion of the options strike range. The existing 25-1-25 strike structure (ITM-ATM-OTM) will be expanded to 50-1-50, substantially increasing the number of available strike prices. The wider strike range will offer greater flexibility and precision in executing trading and hedging strategies across different market conditions.
However, the expiry cycle of WTI Crude Oil Futures contracts will remain unchanged, ensuring continuity for existing participants.
For the December 2026 series, the Options contract will expire on December 11, 2026, while the corresponding Futures contract will expire on December 18, 2026.
BSE Announces Lower Transaction Costs
In a move aimed at encouraging wider participation and improving liquidity, BSE has also announced attractive transaction cost benefits for the WTI Crude Oil derivatives segment.
Exchange transaction charges will be fixed at Rs 2 per crore for Futures and Rs 10 per crore for Options. Additionally, Authorised Person (AP) charges applicable to these contracts will be waived.
The measures are expected to reduce the overall trading cost for members and their clients while encouraging greater participation through the exchange’s Authorised Person network.
Focus on Expanding Commodity Derivatives Market
The revised contract specifications combine a wider options strike range, greater flexibility in managing positions and lower transaction costs. These measures are aimed at creating a more efficient and competitive trading environment.
BSE expects the enhancements to attract greater participation from brokers, proprietary trading firms, institutional investors, hedgers and individual traders, while supporting liquidity development in the commodity derivatives market.
Through these product enhancements, BSE aims to strengthen its commodity derivatives offerings and provide market participants with more efficient tools to manage exposure to global crude oil price movements.
