The margin requirement is the amount of funds you need to keep a trading position open.
You can calculate it using two common methods:
1. Leverage-Based Margin Method
This method uses your leverage to determine the margin required.
Formula:
Example A (Base currency = Account currency = USD)
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Account Currency: USD
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Currency Pair: USDCAD
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Volume: 1.00 lot (100,000 units of base currency)
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Leverage: 1:400
Calculation:
Margin=100,000×1/ 400=250.00 USD
Since the base currency is the same as the account currency, no conversion is needed.
Example B (Base currency ≠ Account currency)
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Account Currency: USD
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Currency Pair: EURUSD
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Volume: 0.10 lot (10,000 units of base currency)
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Leverage: 1:400
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Spot rate EUR to USD = 1.1400
Calculation:
Margin=10,000×1.1400 /400=28.50 USD
Here, the base currency is EUR, so we convert to USD using the spot rate.
2. Margin Percentage Method
This method uses the product's margin percentage instead of leverage.
Formula:
Margin=Lot Size×Contract Size×Margin Percentage×Market Price
Example (EURUSD)
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Volume: 0.10 lot
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Contract Size: 100,000 units
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Margin Percentage: 0.25% (or 0.0025)
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Market Price: 1.1300
Calculation:
Margin=0.10×100,000×0.0025×1.1300=28.25 USD
Note: The margin percentage for each product can be found on our website here.