Margin is the amount reserved in your trading account to open and maintain orders. It’s calculated in the account's currency based on the trading instrument and leverage. Margin acts as a deposit, not a fee, and is returned after an order is closed, provided losses don't consume it.
Calculating margin
For quick margin calculations, use our trading calculator.
Dynamic margin requirements
Dynamic margin requirements change as leverage changes:
- Higher leverage = Less margin required.
- Lower leverage = More margin required.
Conditions for leverage change under dynamic margin requirements include:
- When your trading account’s equity changes.
- During the publication of important economic news.
- 3 hours before and 1 hour after weekend market closure and holiday breaks.
Formula: Margin = Lots × Contract Size / Leverage
Example: For 2 lots of EURUSD at 1:2000 leverage: Margin = 2 × 100,000 / 2000 = 100 EUR
Fixed margin requirements
Fixed margin requirements remain unchanged regardless of leverage.
Fixed margin applies to specific instruments, such as:
- Exotic currency pairs
- Cryptocurrencies
- Commodities (energies and some metals)
- Stocks
- Indices
The margin depends on the specific symbol and is unaffected by leverage (including unlimited leverage) for these instruments.
Formula: Margin = Lots × Contract Size × Required Margin
Example: For 0.5 lots of GBPSEKm with a 1% margin requirement: Margin = 0.5 × 100,000 × 0.01 = 500 GBP
Margin requirements for fully hedged orders equal 0%. Partially hedged orders margin applied to the unhedged part.
Higher margin requirements (HMR)
HMR refers to periods when higher margin amounts are required, typically capping leverage to mitigate risks during volatile events.
Instruments and their leverages during HMR
Instrument group |
Instruments |
Leverage during HMR |
Forex |
All |
1:200 |
Energies |
USOil, UKOil |
1:20 |
XNGUSD |
1:5 |
|
Commodities |
XAU |
1:200 |
XAG |
1:100 |
|
XALUSD, XCUUSD, XNIUSD, XPBUSD, XZNUSD |
1:50 |
|
Indices |
All |
1:20 - 1:50 |
Stocks |
All |
1:5 |
These periods occur during:
Orders opened 15 minutes before and 5 minutes after high-impact news have HMR applied, capping leverage for forex 1:200 (read about other instruments during HMR periods). After HMR margins are recalculated based on the account’s equity and leverage 5 minutes after the news release.
The change in margin requirements only apply to orders opened on instruments affected by the published news. This rule does not affect the margin held for orders opened before the HMR period. The only exception is stocks: the margin of previously opened stock orders will be recalculated based on higher margin requirements in the event of the announcement of the financial reports.
The period of high margin requirement (HMR) is dependent on different events. HMR may last longer based on risk management decisions.
Market closures include weekends, public holidays, and daily breaks (which occur at various times based on the instrument). Instruments typically experience HMR 3 hours before closure and 1 hour after reopening (periods may be shorter during daily breaks), except XAUUSD which apply HMR 4 hours before closure and 1 hour after reopening, and cryptocurrency instruments which are not subject to weekend closures.
Check out our instrument trading hours for more information on daily break timing, and weekend schedules.
HMR applies to positions opened during this time. After the period ends, margins are recalculated based on equity and selected leverage.
You can check the following sources to learn about HMR periods:
- Emails sent to the MT4/MT5 platform mailbox (daily)
- Economic calendar
- Watchlist
- Indicator/highlighting on chart in Exness Terminal and Exness Trade
- Personal Area analytics