Markets
Energies: what it is, what moves it and how to study it
What it is, what moves it, when it moves and how to practice it on demo before thinking about a live account.
What it is
The market in a sentence
CFDs on crude oil, in spot and futures contracts.
Instruments HFM lists
- US Crude Oil (USOIL)
- UK Brent Oil (UKOIL)
Examples taken from HFM's specification tables on October 26, 2026. The instruments available depend on the account type.
See the Energies conditions on hfm.com →What to study
Crude depends on supply, demand, weather and geopolitics. Study the inventory reports on the calendar.
Be clear on this
Very sensitive to news; price gaps are frequent. Use a stop and a small size on demo.
What moves it
Three forces worth watching
Supply and demand
The output of oil-producing countries and global economic activity set the underlying direction.
Inventories
Weekly crude oil inventory reports appear on the calendar and often cause price jumps.
Geopolitics and weather
Conflicts in producing regions, hurricanes or harsh winters change expected supply or demand.
Sessions
When it moves
Crude trades almost continuously Monday to Friday, with daily breaks. Strong movement tends to coincide with the New York session and with the reports on the calendar.
The exact hours of each instrument are published by HFM and can change.
Live chart
Watch it now
TradingView chart for educational purposes. Prices may differ from those on your HFM platform. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy or sell.
Practice
How to practice it on demo
Mark the week's inventory report on the calendar and watch on demo what price does before and after, without trading the news.
- 01
Open a demo account
It is free and uses no real money. Request it with the button on this page.
- 02
Mark levels on the daily chart
Support and resistance from the last few weeks. That way you arrive at each session with a map.
- 03
Calculate the size before trading
Use Arco's calculators to set how much you risk per trade; on demo it counts too.
- 04
Write everything down for a week
What you saw, what you did and what happened. The journal is what gets studied, not the balance.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Energies
What is the difference between WTI and Brent?
WTI is the benchmark for US crude and Brent for international North Sea crude. They tend to move similarly, but not identically.
Why are there price gaps?
Because news arrives while the market is closed or on a break, and price opens far from the previous close. A stop is not guaranteed to fill at the exact price.
Keep exploring
The other markets
Pick this market and watch it for a week on demo.
It is the first exercise of module 3: mark levels every day and write down what happened.