How much cash do you need in your IB margin account to buy and sell 1 ES contract. And does this cash requirement double with each subsequent contract purchase. I find the preview order feature very nice, but when I preview an ESH9 order, I get confused cause it says something like $68,000 ish and 2000 (plus or minus) margin and then another 2000 ish margin number for 1 ES contract. Thank you.
Although this varies from broker to broker, at IB the ES initial margin requirement is currently $6188. Then if you hold overnight the maintenance requirement is currently $4950. These numbers change alot and are quite high right now due to the recent volatility in the ES (with days sometimes having 100 pt ranges). Anyway, you can keep tabs on the latest requirements by going here and scrolling down to CME (GLOBEX). http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/marginRequirements/margin_amer.php?ib_entity=llc
Thank you Magna, Do I require more besides the initial margin requirement of six thousand, or does this cover the purchase price as well. In other words, do I need the 6K margin, plus cash to purchase 1 ES and then possibly some cash left over so losses do not dip into my margin. Also, concerning holding overnight, do you need the 6K margin, plus the 5k margin for holding overnight. thx, again.
You'll only need the $6188 plus 1/2 of your brokers round turn commission to open a position buying (going long) or selling (going short) 1 ES contract. Once you have a position then you'll have to maintain the $4950 "maintenance" in your account for as long as you hold the position. This assumes you already have an account at IB. I think they have a minimum balance of $10,000 to open account now.
thx Lucrum, I just got this email... Dear Trader, The margin required to put on one ES will be 6,188 and to maintain that position will be 4,950 USD. The cash doubles with each subsequent contract purchase. When it states 68,000 as margin it is taken the full value of the contract. The margin for ES will be 6,188 USD/ Regards, IB