The best indicator for Crude Oil WTI (CL)
We backtested 382 indicators across daily, weekly and hourly charts on real Crude Oil WTI (CL) history. Here's what actually worked — risk-adjusted, out-of-sample, with costs.
Hammer
On the weekly chart, this is the strongest risk-adjusted edge we found for Crude Oil WTI (CL) over ~25.9 years — beating buy-and-hold by 7.4% CAGR.
Best multi-indicator combo
Going long only when all 2 agree was the strongest confluence setup we found for Crude Oil WTI (CL) — beating buy-and-hold by 4.8% CAGR, out-of-sample. Fewer, higher-conviction trades than any single indicator.
The winner on each chart
Every indicator, ranked
Ranked by Sharpe (risk-adjusted return). Hypothetical, fees included.
| # | Indicator | TF | CAGR | Sharpe | Max DD | Win | Trades | vs B&H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hammer ✓ | Weekly | 11.5% | 0.75 | -40.0% | 65.6% | 32 | 7.4% |
| 2 | Money Flow Index ✓ | 4-Hour | 6.4% | 0.6 | -21.3% | 54.5% | 33 | 3.7% |
| 3 | Stochastic RSI ✓ | Weekly | 9.3% | 0.58 | -39.0% | 72.5% | 40 | 5.2% |
| 4 | Ehlers Relative Vigor ✓ | Weekly | 12.1% | 0.56 | -46.8% | 46.2% | 104 | 8.0% |
| 5 | Morning Star ✓ | 4-Hour | 5.4% | 0.53 | -20.0% | 50.0% | 132 | 2.7% |
| 6 | FRAMA 10/30 Cross ✓ | Weekly | 10.2% | 0.51 | -40.4% | 53.7% | 82 | 6.1% |
| 7 | Relative Vigor Index ✓ | Weekly | 10.4% | 0.5 | -46.3% | 49.0% | 96 | 6.3% |
| 8 | Advance Trend Pressure ✓ | Weekly | 10.2% | 0.48 | -54.3% | 50.9% | 57 | 6.1% |
| 9 | RSI Mean-Reversion ✓ | 4-Hour | 4.1% | 0.48 | -18.2% | 75.0% | 28 | 1.4% |
| 10 | Delta Volume Rising (CVD proxy) ✓ | Weekly | 9.3% | 0.46 | -68.2% | 47.1% | 119 | 5.2% |
| 11 | Zero-Lag LSMA ✓ | Weekly | 8.8% | 0.44 | -64.7% | 51.8% | 85 | 4.7% |
| 12 | Donchian Midline ✓ | Weekly | 8.2% | 0.43 | -44.2% | 40.6% | 69 | 4.1% |
| 13 | Williams %R (21) ✓ | Weekly | 8.2% | 0.43 | -46.3% | 38.2% | 68 | 4.1% |
| 14 | Williams %R (50) ✓ | Weekly | 8.1% | 0.43 | -52.7% | 45.7% | 46 | 4.0% |
✓ = held up out-of-sample. Hypothetical, costs included. See methodology.
For Crude Oil WTI (CL), Hammer on the weekly timeframe gave the best balance of return and risk in our test. It beat buy-and-hold — but remember: this is a hypothetical backtest of a standard rule, not a recommendation. Markets change. See the methodology and disclaimer.
More commodity
Get alerted when Crude Oil WTI’s signal flips
We track Crude Oil WTI daily. Its backtested best indicator, Hammer (Weekly), is flat right now — we'll email you the moment that changes. Free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.