A couple of weeks ago I started to track Crude Oil CL 02-13 in NinjaTrader. The volume was great with normal looking charts and bar action. (I normally trade ES which I done for many years.) When the markets opened u;p on Sunday night and going forward including today the volume is very sparse. Is this because everybody is trading the next contract or what. Wit ES the volume is strong right up until the roll over. Is CL different?

Yes, CL volume rolls a little differently than ES. Once we come to around 18-20th of each month, it's important to monitor the volume on both the front month contract as well as the following. This way you'll be able to notice when the volume rolls to the next month. No "set" day really...

Volume rolled from 2-13 to 3-13 last Thursday/Friday...

Thanks for the answer. That explains a whole lot. I am going to roll my contracts over right away.

Thanks, Gavin

@Gavin:

If you're using Ninja Trader, there's a great and easy to use indicator provided by @monpere in the download section which shows you at one click where the highest volume for a free defined list of instruments exists.

https://nexusfi.com/download/ninjatrader-7/indicators/1329-download.html?view