CME shifts gold and silver futures margins to percentage-based system

Beincrypto reports the Chicago Mercantile Exchange will shift margin requirements for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures from fixed dollar amounts to percentages of notional value, effective January 13, 2026. According to the derivatives marketplace, the move follows a normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage; the announcement read: “As per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage…the CME… approved the performance bond requirements…[from]based on a dollar amount…[to]based on a percentage of notional.” Under the new framework, gold margins will be 5% and silver 9%, with similar percentage-based calculations applied to platinum and palladium.

Linking margins to notional makes collateral rise automatically as prices increase, which the source says raises costs for short sellers and can squeeze overleveraged paper traders. Analyst Echo X wrote: “The higher gold and silver go, the more collateral shorts must post. That means: Shorting metals just got way more expensive.

Overleveraged paper traders get squeezed faster. Forced covering = higher volatility.” The change comes amid strong price action: the article notes silver is up more than 100% in 2025 and that around 100,000 March 2026 silver futures contracts remain outstanding, while much trading has shifted off-exchange.

Key Topics

Business, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Gold, Silver, Precious Metals Futures, Margin Requirements