Are these increased margin requirements temporary?

OEC used to be $500 per ES, now it's close to $1,000.

Is this temporary due to crazy market conditions recently or is this the new wave of brokers trying to protect themselves?

 

1) Yes and yes.
2) Some firms still have $500 per contract intra-day margin.

 

it's annoying.

I usually trade 1 contract but sometimes I'll increase a bit.

But I keep my trading account small because OEC doesn't pay interest.

 

1) Nobody pays interest on cash-balances because the T-Bill rate is ~0.00%.
2) You can take this with a grain of salt but I believe you are "concerned" about intra-day margins and account interest because you're undercapitalized.
3) You keep your account "small" because you have to.
4) Your trading gains should be much more significant than interest earned on idle cash.
5) Your firm may be willing to accept shorter-term T-Notes as collateral.

 

I keep my account at around $10k. Every few weeks I take whatever is above $10k and sweep it into a checking account that pays interest. The checking account is what I use to pay for food, mortgage, and my emergency fund.