Gold margin
Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), metals
- Tick
- $100.1 per tick
- One point
- $100per contract
- Initial margin
- $22,211.20exchange, as of 27 Oct 2026
- Front contract
- GCZ26roll by 25 Nov 2026
Margin as of How we source this
Details
| Contract month | December 2026 |
|---|---|
| How initial is set | maintenance × 1.10 (CME speculator ratio) |
| Source | https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/metals/precious/gold.margins.html (effective 27 Oct 2026) |
| Exchange margin page | https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/metals/precious/gold.margins.html |
| Fetched | 27 Oct 2026 |
Margin by contract month
| Contract months | Initial | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | $22,123.20 | $20,112 |
| November 2026 | $22,134.20 | $20,122 |
| December 2026 (front) | $22,211.20 | $20,192 |
| January 2027 | $22,312.40 | $20,284 |
| February 2027 | $22,397.10 | $20,361 |
| March 2027 | $22,481.80 | $20,438 |
| April 2027 | $22,575.30 | $20,523 |
| May 2027 | $22,675.40 | $20,614 |
| June 2027 | $22,767.80 | $20,698 |
| July 2027 | $22,863.50 | $20,785 |
| August 2027 | $22,962.50 | $20,875 |
| September 2027 | $23,056 | $20,960 |
| October 2027 | $23,148.40 | $21,044 |
| November 2027 | $23,241.90 | $21,129 |
| December 2027 | $23,334.30 | $21,213 |
| January 2028 | $23,427.80 | $21,298 |
| February 2028 | $23,518 | $21,380 |
| March 2028 | $23,609.30 | $21,463 |
| April 2028 | $23,698.40 | $21,544 |
| May 2028 | $23,783.10 | $21,621 |
| June 2028 | $23,866.70 | $21,697 |
| July 2028 | $23,955.80 | $21,778 |
| August 2028 | $24,042.70 | $21,857 |
| September 2028 | $24,131.80 | $21,938 |
| October 2028 | $24,218.70 | $22,017 |
| November 2028 | $24,307.80 | $22,098 |
| December 2028 | $24,394.70 | $22,177 |
| June 2029 | $24,926 | $22,660 |
| December 2029 | $25,470.50 | $23,155 |
| June 2030 | $25,844.50 | $23,495 |
| December 2030 | $26,064.50 | $23,695 |
| June 2031 | $26,258.10 | $23,871 |
| December 2031 | $26,456.10 | $24,051 |
| June 2032 | $26,649.70 | $24,227 |
CME sets margins by contract month; deferred months often differ from the front month. Same source and date as above.
How exchange margin works
Margin is the deposit the clearing house requires to hold one Gold (GC) futures contract overnight. It is a performance bond, not a payment: it secures the daily settlement of gains and losses. For the December 2026 contract, the exchange initial margin is $22,211.20 and the maintenance margin is $20,192. Initial margin is what you need to open a position; if your account falls below maintenance, you will be asked to bring it back up to initial.
CME publishes maintenance margin; initial margin for speculative accounts is 1.10 times maintenance, which is how the initial figure here is derived. These are exchange minimums. Brokers set their own requirements, which are usually higher, and many offer lower intraday “day-trading” margins that apply only to positions closed before the session ends. Those broker figures are not shown here.
Clearing houses change margins whenever volatility changes, sometimes with one day's notice. This page is rebuilt daily from the clearing house's published figures; the as-of date tells you when the value was fetched, and the changes page lists every contract whose margin moved in the last seven days.
Margin for several contracts
Questions
- What is the margin for GC?
- As of 27 Oct 2026, exchange initial margin is $22,211.20 and maintenance margin is $20,192 per contract.
- Why is my broker's GC margin different?
- Brokers may require more than the exchange minimum shown here, and day-trading margins are set by brokers, not the exchange.
- How often does GC margin change?
- The clearing house reviews margins continuously and changes them when volatility moves. This page is updated daily.