Futures Contract Specifications: Contract Size, Tick Value, Month Codes and Last Trading Day

Futures contract specifications are the fixed terms an exchange sets for every contract: how much of the asset one contract represents, the smallest allowed price move (the tick) and what it is worth in dollars, which months are listed, how the contract settles, and the last day it can trade. If you know the size and tick value, you can turn any price move into a dollar gain or loss with one multiplication.

In short: the key numbers are the multiplier or contract size (for example $50 x the index for the E-mini S&P 500, or 1,000 barrels for WTI crude oil), the tick size (0.25 index points, or $0.01 per barrel), and the tick value (contract size x tick size: $12.50 and $10.00 respectively). Each contract month has a letter code, from F for January to Z for December, so ESZ26 is the December 2026 E-mini S&P 500. The spec sheet also tells you whether the contract is cash settled or physically delivered and when trading stops.

The misconception: “a point is a point”

A one-point move means very different amounts of money in different contracts. One point on the E-mini S&P 500 is $50. One point (a dollar per barrel) on WTI crude oil is $1,000. One point on Cboe’s VIX futures is $1,000, and on the Montréal Exchange’s S&P/TSX 60 futures it is C$200. Before you can understand any futures price, you need its spec sheet.

The anatomy of a spec sheet

Field	What it means	Example (E-mini S&P 500, CME)
Contract unit / multiplier	Quantity or dollar value per point	$50 x S&P 500 index
Price quotation	How the price is expressed	Index points
Minimum price fluctuation (tick)	Smallest allowed move	0.25 index points
Tick value	Contract unit x tick	$12.50
Listed contracts	Which months trade	Quarterly: March, June, September, December
Trading hours	When it trades	Sunday to Friday, 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT
Settlement method	Cash or physical delivery	Cash settled
Termination of trading	Last day and time	Third Friday of the contract month, at the open of the index
Product code	Symbol on CME Globex	ES

Real specifications for common contracts

The table below comes from the exchanges’ published specifications (CME Group, ICE, Cboe and the Montréal Exchange) as of November 2026. Specs change occasionally; always check the exchange’s own page.

Contract	Code	Exchange	Contract size	Tick	Tick value	Settlement
E-mini S&P 500	ES	CME	$50 x index	0.25 pt	$12.50	Cash
Micro E-mini S&P 500	MES	CME	$5 x index	0.25 pt	$1.25	Cash
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI)	CL	NYMEX	1,000 barrels	$0.01/bbl	$10.00	Physical, Cushing, Oklahoma
Micro WTI Crude Oil	MCL	NYMEX	100 barrels	$0.01/bbl	$1.00	Cash
Brent Crude	B	ICE Futures Europe	1,000 barrels	$0.01/bbl	$10.00	EFP delivery, with cash settlement against the ICE Brent Index
Gold	GC	COMEX	100 troy ounces	$0.10/oz	$10.00	Physical
Corn	ZC	CBOT	5,000 bushels	1/4 cent/bu	$12.50	Physical
VIX futures	VX	Cboe Futures Exchange	$1,000 x index	0.05 pt	$50.00	Cash
S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures	SXF	Montréal Exchange	C$200 x index	0.10 pt	C$20.00	Cash

The tick value is always contract size times tick size: 1,000 barrels x $0.01 = $10; 100 ounces x $0.10 = $10; 5,000 bushels x $0.0025 = $12.50; C$200 x 0.10 = C$20.

Month codes

Every futures exchange in North America uses the same single-letter month codes. CME Group publishes them as:

Month	Code	Month	Code
January	F	July	N
February	G	August	Q
March	H	September	U
April	J	October	V
May	K	November	X
June	M	December	Z

A full symbol is product code + month code + year. CME’s own examples use both one- and two-digit years depending on the platform, so the December 2026 E-mini S&P 500 can appear as ESZ6 or ESZ26. Some more:

ESH27: E-mini S&P 500, March 2027.
CLF27: WTI crude oil, January 2027.
ZCZ26: corn, December 2026.
GCG27: gold, February 2027.

Not every contract lists every month. Equity index futures list the quarterly H, M, U, Z cycle. CME lists corn for March, May, July, September and December (H, K, N, U, Z). WTI crude oil lists every month for years ahead. More on codes in expiration month codes.

Last trading day: three real rules

The last trading day is defined by a rule, not a fixed date, so it moves around the calendar.

E-mini S&P 500: trading ends on the third Friday of the contract month, and the contract cash settles to a special opening value of the index that morning. CME’s roll-date table lists December 18, 2026 as the expiration of ESZ26 and March 19, 2027 for ESH27.
WTI crude oil: the NYMEX rulebook says trading ends on the third business day before the 25th calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month (with an adjustment if the 25th is not a business day). For the March 2027 contract, the 25th of February 2027 is a Thursday, so counting back three business days gives Monday, February 22, 2027, subject to any holiday adjustment in CME’s published calendar.
Corn: trading ends on the business day before the 15th calendar day of the contract month. December 15, 2026 is a Tuesday, so ZCZ26 stops trading on Monday, December 14, 2026.

For physically delivered contracts, the dates that matter to most traders come earlier still, at first notice day. See physical vs cash settlement.

A worked example: turning prices into dollars

All prices below are illustrative.

WTI crude oil. You buy one CL contract at $72.40 and sell it at $71.85.

Move: $72.40 minus $71.85 = $0.55 per barrel = 55 ticks.
Loss: 55 x $10 = $550. (Check: 1,000 barrels x $0.55 = $550.)
Notional value at entry: 1,000 x $72.40 = $72,400.

Micro E-mini S&P 500. You buy one MES at 6,000.00 and sell at 6,013.75.

Move: 13.75 points = 13.75 / 0.25 = 55 ticks.
Gain: 55 x $1.25 = $68.75. (Check: 13.75 x $5 = $68.75.)
Notional value at entry: 6,000 x $5 = $30,000.

S&P/TSX 60 (SXF). You sell one SXF at 1,600.00 and buy it back at 1,592.30.

Move: 7.70 points = 77 ticks.
Gain: 77 x C$20 = C$1,540. (Check: 7.70 x C$200.)

Notice that the same 55-tick move cost $550 in oil but earned $68.75 in micro equities. Ticks are only comparable within one contract.

Notional value: the number the spec sheet implies

The spec sheet never states a contract’s notional value directly, because it depends on the price. But it is the single most useful number to work out, since it tells you how much exposure one contract carries. Notional value = contract size x price. At illustrative prices:

Contract	Illustrative price	Calculation	Notional value
ES	6,000.00	6,000 x $50	$300,000
MES	6,000.00	6,000 x $5	$30,000
CL	$72.40	1,000 x $72.40	$72,400
MCL	$72.40	100 x $72.40	$7,240
GC	$4,000.00	100 x $4,000	$400,000
ZC	$4.50	5,000 x $4.50	$22,500
SXF	1,600.00	1,600 x C$200	C$320,000

A trader holding one gold contract has the same price exposure as someone who owns 100 ounces of gold, whatever the margin deposit happens to be. The concept is covered on its own in notional value.

Where to find the official specs

Each exchange publishes a contract specifications page for every product: CME Group under each product’s “Contract Specs” tab, ICE in its product guide, Cboe on the product’s specifications page, and the Montréal Exchange on each product page and in its reference manuals. The binding version is the exchange rulebook chapter for that contract, which spells out the delivery and settlement procedures in full. Exchanges also publish calendars of first notice, last trading and settlement dates, which already account for holidays, so there is no need to calculate them by hand once you understand the rules.

What can go wrong

Misreading the multiplier. Confusing ES ($50) with MES ($5), or CL (1,000 barrels) with MCL (100), means misjudging your exposure by a factor of ten.
Forgetting the calendar. Holding a physically delivered contract past the broker’s cut-off can trigger forced liquidation or delivery obligations.
Ignoring notional value. A low margin requirement says nothing about how much you can lose. Notional value does. See tick size and the margin walkthrough.

The short version

A spec sheet tells you everything except the price. Contract size times tick size gives tick value; ticks times tick value gives your profit or loss. Month codes run F to Z, and a symbol combines product, month and year. Last trading days follow written rules that you can calculate, and physical contracts have earlier dates that matter more. Read the specs before reading the chart.