Do Forex and CFDs Margin requirements change?
Margin requirements can periodically change to account for changes in market volatility and currency exchange rates. For example, the margin requirement (MMR) for a specific currency pair is calculated as a percentage of the notional value of such pair. As the exchange rates for any specific currency pair fluctuate up or down, the margin requirement for that pair must be adjusted. As an example, if the Euro strengthens against the US dollar, more margin will be required to hold a EUR/USD position in a US dollar denominated account. FXCM does not anticipate more than one update a month, however extreme market movements or event risk may necessitate unscheduled intra-month updates.
The Trading Station tiered margin system consists of two components:
- Initial Entry/Maintenance Margin – The initial good faith deposit or collateral set aside to open and then maintain a position. The exact amount of margin required to open a position can be viewed in the "MMR" column under the "Simple Dealing Rates" tab on the Trading Station platform or in the "Used Maint Mr" column under the "Accounts" on the Trading Station platform.
- Liquidation Margin (Minimum Required Margin) – The minimum amount of equity that must be in the account in order to continue holding the current open positions on the account. This is set at 50% of the value of the Maintenance Margin. If the account equity falls below this level, all positions will be automatically closed. The exact amount of margin required before automatic liquidation will occur can be found in the "Used Mr" column under the "Accounts" tab on the Trading Station platform.