To trade in financial markets, you need to know the minimum amount to open a trade. This depends on trade size, leverage, and the asset's price. We'll explain how to calculate the margin with examples.
Where:
- Margin - the required amount to open a trade.
- V (lots) - volume in lots.
- Contract size per lot - 100,000 units of the base currency.
- Leverage - allows increasing position size using borrowed funds.
Base currency is the first in the pair, e.g.:
EURUSD - EUR;
USDJPY - USD.
Convert margin to deposit currency (USD, EUR, etc.) based on the current rate.
Example #1. Margin Calculation for Currency Pairs
Data:
Instrument - EURUSD;
Volume - 0.1 lots;
Contract size - 100,000 EUR;
Leverage - 1:100;
EURUSD rate - 1.35400;
Deposit currency - USD.
Calculation:
Margin = 0.1 × 100,000 EUR / 100 = 100 EUR.
In USD: 100 EUR × 1.35400 = 135.40 USD.
Example #2. Margin Calculation for Cross-Rate Pairs
Data:
Instrument - AUDCAD;
Volume - 0.1 lots;
Contract size - 100,000 AUD;
Leverage - 1:100;
AUDCAD rate - 0.99484;
AUDUSD rate - 0.78373;
Deposit currency - USD.
Calculation:
Margin = 0.1 × 100,000 AUD / 100 = 100 AUD.
In USD: 100 AUD × 0.78373 = 78.37 USD.
Example #3. Margin Calculation for Spot Metals
Data:
Instrument - XAUUSD;
Volume - 0.1 lots;
Contract - 100 troy oz;
Leverage - 1:500;
Price - 1332.442;
Deposit currency - USD.
Calculation:
Margin = 0.1 × 100 oz × 1332.442 / 500 = 26.65 USD.
Example #4. Margin Calculation for Cryptocurrencies
Data:
Instrument - XBNUSD;
Volume - 0.1 lots;
Price - 998.500;
Deposit currency - USD.
Calculation:
Margin = 0.1 × 1 × 998.500 × 50% = 49.93 USD.