QM Futures (E-mini Crude): Tick Value, Expiries, Order Flow

QM contract specifications

The contract unit is 500 barrels, quoted in U.S. dollars and cents per barrel. The minimum fluctuation is $0.025 per barrel, so one tick is worth $12.50 and a one-dollar move $500 per contract. It is cash-settled against the CL final settlement price of the corresponding month. Senzoukria's contract table holds the same tick and multiplier on the NYMEX venue code.

QM last trading day and next contracts

Trading ends on the business day immediately preceding the last trading day of the Light Sweet Crude Oil (CL) contract.

Senzoukria's expiry engine gives QM the same 25th-of-the-month rule as CL, so its picker lists the expiring QM contract one business day after QM has actually stopped trading. For QMX6, the default moves to the next listed month on October 16, 2026 (4 calendar days before October 20, 2026), and QMX6 stays selectable with its badge until that date.

For QMF7 the CL date moves to December 21 because the 25th is Christmas Day, which puts QM's last trading day on Friday, December 18, 2026.

QM tick value and P&L arithmetic

• One tick = $0.025 × 500 = $12.50.
• 10 ticks ($0.25 per barrel) = $125 per contract.
• A $0.30 stop is 12 ticks: $150 per contract, $300 on 2 contracts.
• The same $0.30 on CL is $300 per contract.

Reading QM order flow

With row resolution off, a QM footprint has one row per $0.025 tick and prices carry 3 decimals. The fixed steps give 2 ticks = 0.05, 4 ticks = 0.1, 8 ticks = 0.2, 16 ticks = 0.4, 32 ticks = 0.8 dollars per barrel per row.

QM is 500 barrels with a 2.5-cent tick worth $12.50, coarser than CL's one-cent grid. Four QM ticks make ten cents, so the fixed 4-tick row step is exactly $0.10 per row, a round figure that CL's grid cannot give with a power-of-two step. QM is cash-settled and has its own book.

Using QM in Senzoukria

• Symbol picker on a Rithmic or Databento CME source: type QM; on September 25, 2026 the listed contract is QMX6 (November 2026), in the Energy family.
• Heatmap and DOM show that contract's book with NYMEX as the venue in the ladder header.
• Replay lists QM in the Energy group. In the automatic backtest, set Point value ($) to 500, the value of a one-dollar move; the field defaults to 2.