SECTION ONE: What are the new Margin Requirements?

What are the new margin requirements?

CFTC approved NFA amendments to Section 12 of NFA rule book, which requires FDMs to collect a margin deposit of 1% of the notional value of the positions held in the US dollar, British pound, the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar, the Japanese yen, the Euro, the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the Swedish krona, the Norwegian krone, and the Danish krone and 4% of the notional value of other positions.

This simply means that you will be required to put up more margin to open a new position or hold on to an existing position based on currency pair.

When does the new rule TAKE effect?

FXCM will be adjusting client margin levels on Sunday, November 22nd. (The NFA requires FDMs to comply by November 30th)

Will my account be affected by this change?

All Micro accounts held with Forex Capital Markets LLC (FXCM US) will be affected by the new margin requirements.

  • All positions and orders established after November 22nd will be subject to the new margin requirements.
  • Additionally, open trades and active orders initiated prior to November 22nd will also be subject to the new margin requirements.

SECTION TWO: FXCM LLC margin requirements table

Learn More
by watching оur
Margin Change Video Read More
frequently asked questions
at our Margin Change forum

The table below shows Forex Capital Markets LLC (FXCM US) Micro current and new margin requirements.

If you are not sure what entity you are trading with, simply run a combined account statement report via the FX Trading Station or on MyFXCM.com. The entity and address will appear on the footer of the statement.

Micro Account

  • USD Account
Currency Pair (Majors) Current USD Margin New USD Margin
EUR/USD EUR/JPY EUR/GBP
EUR/AUD EUR/CAD EUR/CHF
EUR/NZD
$2.50 $16
GBP/USD GBP/JPY GBP/CHF
GBP/AUD GBP/NZD GBP/CAD
$2.50 $17
USD/JPY USD/CAD USD/CHF
USD/DKK
$2.50 $10
AUD/USD AUD/NZD AUD/JPY
AUD/CAD AUD/CHF
$2.50 $10
NZD/USD NZD/JPY  
$2.50 $10
CAD/JPY
$2.50 $10
CHF/JPY
$2.50 $12
USD/ZAR EUR/TRY USD/HKD
USD/TRY
$12.50 $20 $2.50
$20
$40 $80 $40
$40

* CURRENT USD MARGIN IS BASED ON AN FXCM LLC MICRO ACCOUNT WITH 0.25% MARGIN.

Based on price fluctuations, all margin Requirements are subject to change without notice based on price fluctuations and will be adjusted up or down in increments of $1 for USD denominated accounts. At present, FXCM does not anticipate that margin requirements will have to be changed more than once a month. Up to date Margin requirements are and will continue to be displayed in the simplified dealing rates window of the trading platform by currency pair.

SECTION THREE: Calculating Your New Margin

Will my positions be margined out?

We recommend WATCHING THIS VIDEO
or following the steps below to find out if your positions will be margined out when the new margin levels take effect.

Step One

  • Login to the trading station. Then consult the open positions window to view your live trade details.

Open Positions Window

Step Two

  • On a piece of paper, write down the trade details for each trade you currently have open
    Include the currency pair and the trade size, like this: EUR/USD 1,000 (1,000 = 1 lot)
  • Next, write down the NEW margin requirement for each trade
    For example, EUR/USD     1,000     $16
  • Next, multiply the NEW margin requirement by the number of lots traded
    For example, $16 X 1 lot = $16
  • Finally, add up all of the new margin levels that you just calculated. This number is your NEW used margin (USD MR).
  • Subtracting this from your equity will give you your usable margin (USBL MR).

*Remember, when your usable margin (USBL MR) drops below zero your live trades will be liquidated.

CURRENCY PAIR LOTS TRADED
(10K PER LOT)		 CURRENT
USD MARGIN		 NEW
USD MARGIN		 TOTAL NEW
USD MARGIN
USD/CAD 4 $2.50 $10 $40
GBP/JPY 10 $2.50 $17 + $170
NZD/JPY 1 $2.50 $10 + $10
EUR/CHF 1 $2.50 $16 + $16
EUR/USD 1 $2.50 $16 + $16
HYPOTHETICAL NEW MARGIN REQUIREMENT TO AVOID LIQUIDATION = $252

DEPOSITING ADDITIONAL FUNDS

It might be necessary to add additional funds to your trading account to avoid the possible liquidation of live positions before November 22nd. After using the method outlined above to determine your Total New USD Margin, if your current usable margin (USBL MR) is less than the amount you calculated above, we recommend that you add additional funds to your account.

CLICK HERE to deposit additional funds into your forex trading account.

Without proper risk management, Currency Trading has a high degree of leverage which can lead to large losses as well as gains.