'US Oil', 'EU Oil' and the 'VIX (Volatility Index)' are so-called “Future” products. This means that they expire after a certain period. The product names you see in the app provide the date on which they will expire, for example 'US Oil 17 Nov 20' will expire on 17th November 2020.
What happens when the product expires?
When the product expires, your position will be automatically closed at the final price (we call this the 'settlement price').
To make sure you can trade Oil and the VIX on a continuous basis, we make sure that the new product is always available roughly one week before the one of the current month expires.
Is there a specific expiration time for these future products?
Yes, for Oil it is 18:00 GMT. For the VIX this is 19:45 GMT (unless we are dealing with a daylight savings time difference in the US). They are closed at the settlement price shortly after this, or on the first working day after the expiration day which is the case for the VIX.
Be aware: For the time between the product expiring and it being settled you will notice the product is closed and you can't do anything with it, don't panic, this is normal. As soon as we receive the settlement price we'll settle it for you.
What about the fees of future products?
When you open the product from the Market screen or from your Portfolio, you will see a full overview of what fees you will pay. As with other products, the minimum fee for opening and closing your position will be £0.50 and is dependent on the total value of your trade.
One cool thing about Oil and the VIX is that you pay no financing fee when you use the Multiplier for these products.
Good to know:
Why are the prices different each month?
There is always a bit of a price difference between future products, for example; A US Oil that expires in May could be higher than the US Oil that expires in April. The reason for this is that future prices take into account expectations of supply and demand, production levels, distribution and storage (among other things). During periods of volatility this price difference between future products can be more extreme than during periods of stability.