Contract Specifications & Margins – Futures Trading Made Clear
Explore contract size, tick value, trading hours, and up-to-date margin requirements for key metals, energies, equity indices, and crypto futures.
Tick: $0.10 → $10 per contract
Initial Margin: $22,000
Maintenance Margin: $20,000
Tick: $0.01 → $10 per contract
Initial Margin: $4,785
Maintenance Margin: $4,350
Tick: $0.0005 → $12.50 per contract
Initial Margin: $9,900
Maintenance Margin: $9,000
Always check current margins via your FCM—these values are updated frequently.
Learn how initial and maintenance margins are determined, why they fluctuate, and how they impact your available trading capital.
A clear breakdown of how tick size and contract value work together to define the minimum price movement and notional value of futures contracts.
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Margins can change due to market volatility and liquidity shifts. Exchanges like CME adjust requirements dynamically to reflect real-time risk, while your FCM may also modify “house margins” to maintain prudent risk coverage. Intraday or overnight volatility spikes can trigger higher margin thresholds.
Tick size is the smallest possible price movement for a contract (e.g., $0.10 for Gold).
Point value is the dollar amount per full point of movement.
Understanding both helps you calculate risk per trade and determine position sizing accurately.
Yes. Micro and mini contracts are smaller in notional value, so their margin requirements are proportionally lower. For example, Micro E-mini contracts typically require about one-tenth of the margin of a standard E-mini. This structure allows traders to scale into positions more flexibly.
Initial Margin is the amount required to open a position — a good-faith deposit set by the exchange.
Maintenance Margin is the minimum balance required to keep that position open. Falling below this level may trigger a margin call, requiring funds to restore your account to the initial level.
You can review current margin levels through your clearing FCM’s daily statements or directly on the CME Group’s Margin Portal. Wisdom Trading monitors exchange updates closely and can provide guidance on how changing margin levels may affect your strategy allocations.
While the exchange sets base margin requirements, brokers may apply additional “house margins” based on their internal risk controls, client leverage policies, or volatility conditions. These add-ons protect both the client and the broker from outsized losses.
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