Futures Rollover Explained: Contract Months, Expiry and When to Roll
Month codes, expiry dates and roll timing for index futures and crude oil, plus what a roll does to your charts, positions and prop account.
Futures rollover means closing a position in a contract that is about to expire and opening the same position in the next contract month. For index futures such as ES and NQ, most traders roll about a week before the quarterly expiry. Crude oil rolls every month, a few days before each contract stops trading. Below is how contract months work and when to roll. It also covers what rollover does to your charts, open trades and prop firm account.
Key takeaways
- Index futures expire on the third Friday of March, June, September and December.
- Volume moves to the next index contract about a week before expiry. Trade the contract with the volume.
- Crude oil has a contract for every month, so a crude trader rolls twelve times a year.
- Rolling changes the price on your chart, not your exposure. Check which chart type you are using.
Contract months and symbols
Each futures contract has a root symbol, a month code and a year digit. ESZ6 is the ES contract for December 2026. NQH7 is the NQ contract for March 2027. CLF7 is crude oil for January 2027.
| Code | Month | Code | Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | January | N | July |
| G | February | Q | August |
| H | March | U | September |
| J | April | V | October |
| K | May | X | November |
| M | June | Z | December |
Equity index futures list the quarterly months H, M, U and Z. Crude oil lists every month. Gold lists many months, but most trading sits in February, April, June, August, October and December (G, J, M, Q, V and Z).
When do index futures expire, and when should you roll?
ES, NQ, YM, RTY and their micros expire on the third Friday of the contract month. Trading in the expiring contract stops at 9:30am New York time that day. It then settles in cash against a special opening price of the index, so there is no delivery.
Most traders do not wait for that. Volume shifts to the next contract about a week before expiry, commonly around the second Thursday of the expiry month. For ESZ6, expiry is Friday, December 18, 2026, so most volume should move to ESH7 around Thursday, December 10.
Do not rely on a date alone. Watch daily volume in both contracts. Once the next month trades more than the front month, it is the one with the tighter book and the cleaner price. Many platforms switch their default symbol around this point, but not all do it on the same day.
The two months trade at different prices. For index futures, the gap mainly reflects interest rates minus expected dividends over the extra three months. When short term rates are above the index dividend yield, the later contract usually trades above the front one.
How does crude oil rollover work?
CL is physically delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma. Trading in a CL contract ends three business days before the 25th calendar day of the month before the contract month. The rule adjusts if the 25th is not a business day. In practice, the December contract stops trading around the 20th of November.
Retail and prop traders cannot take delivery, so they must be out well before then. Liquidity moves to the next month earlier than the last trading day, and the expiring contract can behave erratically as it thins out. In April 2020, the expiring May contract settled below zero, at about minus $37 a barrel. That was an extreme case, but it shows why traders leave early.
MCL, the micro, is cash settled rather than delivered, but it still expires monthly, so the same roll applies. Check its last trading day on the exchange calendar. More on crude in our guide to trading crude oil futures.
What happens to your charts and open positions?
Charts
Most platforms offer a continuous chart that joins contract months together. There are two common versions:
- Unadjusted: shows real traded prices, with a jump on the roll day equal to the gap between months.
- Back adjusted: shifts all older prices by the gap, so the line is smooth, but old bars no longer show the prices that actually traded.
Example figures: on roll day, ESZ6 trades at 6,000.00 and ESH7 at 6,045.00. The gap is 45 points, worth 45 × $50 = $2,250 per ES or $225 per MES. A support level you drew at 5,980 on the December chart sits at about 6,025 on the March chart. If you switch contracts and keep old lines, every level is 45 points out.
After each roll, redraw key levels on the new contract, or use a back adjusted chart and know that its older prices are shifted.
Open positions
A position does not move to the new month by itself. You close it in the old contract and open it in the new one. Many platforms offer a calendar spread order that does both at once at a set price difference.
Example figures: you are long 3 MES December from 5,990.00. On roll day you sell 3 December at 6,000.00 and buy 3 March at 6,045.00. You realize 10 points × $5 × 3 = $150 on the old contract. You are still long 3 MES with the same $15 per point exposure. The 45 point gap is not a loss. Your only cost is fees and any ticks given up crossing the spread on two legs.
How this fits prop firm rules
Many futures prop firm accounts require you to be flat by the day close, so you rarely hold through a roll. The roll still affects you in four ways:
- Trading the wrong month: the expiring contract gets thin in its last days. Wider spreads and worse fills make your stops cost more than planned.
- Firm restrictions: some firms block new trades in an expiring contract after a set date, or close those positions automatically.
- Levels and alerts: price alerts, saved templates and automated strategies may still point at the old symbol.
- Holding allowed: where a firm allows overnight holds, rolling costs fees and slippage on two legs. These count against your daily loss limit like any other loss.
Rules vary by firm; check each firm’s page on PropFirmXchange in the prop firm directory. If you want accounts that allow overnight holding, use find an account to filter. For the session times that define a trading day, see futures trading hours.
Questions traders ask
Do I lose money when I roll a futures contract?
No, apart from fees and slippage. The price gap between months is not a profit or loss. You sell one contract and buy the other, each at its own market price.
What happens if I forget to roll an index futures position?
At expiry it settles in cash at the final settlement price. Most brokers and prop firms close it for you before then, often at a time you did not choose.
Which contract month should I trade today?
The one with the highest daily volume. Compare the front and next months on your platform, and switch once the next month leads.
Trading futures carries a high risk of loss, and contracts near expiry can move in unusual ways. Most prop firm accounts are simulated. Nothing here is financial advice.