Skip to main content

Futures semantics

Brent futures data with contract-month context

Use Brent futures endpoints when you need explicit contract-month data, front-month metadata, source timestamps, and freshness warnings. Do not compare a futures response to another site until you know whether that site shows spot, front-month, continuous, or a different contract month.

What the fields mean

The useful wedge here is precision. These fields help teams avoid stale-data false alarms and mismatched market comparisons.

Contract Month

Each futures contract should be read by its contract_month field. A public price on another site may refer to a different month.

Front Month

front_month_contract means the nearest non-expired contract after commodity-specific expiry and roll rules.

Source Timestamp

Use updated_at and source fields to decide whether a value is current enough for your workflow.

Settlement vs Intraday

Settlement, latest, intraday, and curve views are different workflow concepts and should not be compared as one price.

Package Context

Coverage, cadence, retention, and source-license rights vary by package and returned metadata.

Comparison Note

Public market sites may show a spot benchmark, continuous futures series, or another contract month.

API surfaces

Brent futures routes expose contract-specific data. Package access and retention can vary, so applications should read the returned metadata instead of assuming every route has the same cadence or history.

/v1/futures/ice-brent

Current Brent futures contracts with contract_month fields and front_month metadata.

/v1/futures/ice-brent/historical

Historical contract data for a selected date range, subject to package retention.

/v1/futures/ice-brent/ohlc

Daily OHLC summaries when available for a selected contract.

/v1/futures/ice-brent/intraday

Intraday observations for selected contracts when available for your package.

/v1/futures/ice-brent/curve

Curve view for available contract months, with source and timestamp context.

Claim guardrails

  • Use front-month, contract-month, settlement, and source timestamp language.
  • Do not claim source-license rights unless the package grants them.
  • Do not describe futures values as a universal Brent price without instrument context.
  • Do not compare values across sites without checking contract month and benchmark type.