Margin (day and overnight)

Margin on a futures contract is the collateral a clearing house and broker require to hold a position, not a down payment on the contract's value. Exchange-set maintenance margin applies to positions held through the close, while brokers may offer a lower intraday (day) margin for positions flattened before a cut-off time they define.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

Two margins, two authors

The exchange's clearing house sets the initial and maintenance margin for each contract. These figures are performance bonds: they cover the loss the clearing house could face if a position moved against its holder before it was closed or re-margined. They are published per product and revised when volatility changes.

Brokers and futures commission merchants add their own layer. Many offer a reduced intraday margin for positions that are opened and closed within their trading day, with a hard cut-off before the exchange close after which the full exchange margin applies. Others set house requirements above the exchange minimum. The number you actually face is the broker's, and it can change with little notice around volatile events.

  • Exchange maintenance margin: set by the clearing house, applies to overnight positions.
  • Broker day margin: set by the broker, applies only until the broker's intraday cut-off.
  • Both are stated per contract, and micro contracts carry proportionally smaller requirements.

What margin does and does not tell you

  • It is not the cost of the contract; the notional value is much larger, which is where leverage comes from.
  • It says nothing about how far price can move; a position can lose more than the margin posted.
  • A margin call arrives when account equity falls below maintenance; the broker can liquidate without waiting for a reply.
  • Prop-firm evaluation accounts usually replace margin with a maximum number of contracts and a drawdown rule, which the firm enforces on its own terms.

In Senzoukria

The desktop application does not compute or display margin; the broker's platform and statements remain the source for that figure. What the application does expose are size limits that sit alongside it. The trading settings have a 'Contracts per order' cap, described as a safety net against a slip of the finger rather than a rule, which refuses orders above the chosen number. The autopilot has its own 'Max contracts' field and requires an explicit confirmation that the prop firm allows automated trading on the account.

In the prop-firm rules screen, 'Maximum contracts' is one of the fields read from a firm's published rulebook, alongside the drawdown measure. Where a value could not be read from the source, the screen says so instead of filling in a guess.

Common mistakes

  • Sizing to the day margin and holding through the broker's cut-off, then meeting the full requirement at the worst moment.
  • Reading the margin as the maximum loss on the position.
  • Assuming the broker's figure equals the exchange's published number.
  • Treating a prop-firm contract cap as if it were a margin: it is a contractual limit, and breaching it can end the account regardless of equity.

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Frequently asked questions

Why did my broker's margin change overnight?
Either the exchange revised its maintenance requirement after a volatility change, or the broker adjusted its house or intraday rate, which many do ahead of major releases, rollovers or holidays. Check the broker's margin notice first; the exchange publishes its changes separately.
Is a lower day margin a good thing?
It allows more contracts for the same equity, which cuts both ways. The position's exposure is set by its notional value, not by the collateral posted, so a smaller margin does not make an adverse move any smaller. Size on the loss you can accept, not on the margin the broker allows.
Do prop firms use margin at all?
Evaluation and funded accounts generally replace margin with a maximum contract count and a drawdown limit written in the firm's rules. Those limits are enforced by the firm's platform and can differ between programs, so read the specific rulebook rather than assuming an exchange figure.

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