Margin Requirements

When buying or selling futures contracts, investors are not paying in full for the entire value of the contract. If a homeowner buys a $100,000 home with 10% down, his margin is $10,000 and he is borrowing or leveraging the remaining $90,000 from a financial institution. Likewise, when an investor buys a contract of Wheat which is valued at, say, $14,000 US dollars, he deposits a margin payment of $US 743. Please note, the margin levels listed below are subject to change by the respective Exchange at any time without prior notice.