Crude oil margin on MCX
Crude oil futures on MCX are margined much like index futures: an initial margin from SPAN, the worst one-day loss over the clearing corporation’s price and volatility scenarios, plus an extreme loss margin. MCX also publishes a minimum initial margin as a percentage of the contract value, and the estimate never goes below it.
Margin for this trade
Margin data as of (MCX file)
| BasketExpiry | SPAN | Exposure | Option value | Premium | Stocks, minimums and 5% buffer | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Buy 1 lot, nearest expiry MCX file of 30 Oct 2026
| ₹2,99,000 | ₹12,459 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹15,583 | ₹3,27,042 |
Expiry
- Buy 1 lot, nearest expiry MCX file of 30 Oct 2026
- Buy CRUDEOIL future, 1 lot (100 units)
- SPAN
- ₹2,99,000
- Exposure
- ₹12,459
- Option value
- ₹0
- Premium
- ₹0
- Stocks, minimums and 5% buffer
- ₹15,583
- Total
- ₹3,27,042
≈ approximate Per basket, at the exchange’s reference prices, on the nearest expiry all legs share. Option value is the value of sold options less the credit for bought ones. The 5% buffer rounds the estimate up.
Worked out from the margin files NSE, BSE and MCX publish each day (SPAN, VaR and exposure rates), then rounded up by 5% to stay on the safe side. Your broker can ask for more: ad hoc or delivery margins, its own intraday leverage, or a higher figure during peak-margin checks. Use it to plan a trade, and check the order window before you place it.
How this margin works
One lot of crude oil is 100 barrels, quoted in rupees per barrel, so the contract value moves with both the oil price and the rupee. Crude is volatile, which shows up as a wide SPAN scan range and a higher margin per rupee of exposure than gold.
Near expiry, MCX contracts enter a tender or delivery period, and the exchange adds delivery margins on top. When the file marks a contract that way, the calculator says so next to the figure. The table uses the nearest contract in the file; later months can need a different margin, so compare them in the calculator.
The figures follow the calculator’s method: SPAN and exposure from the clearing corporation’s files, option value and premium, and a 5% buffer.
Crude oil (MCX) questions
How is MCX crude oil margin calculated?
Initial margin from SPAN on the MCX Clearing risk file, never below the minimum margin MCX publishes for the contract, plus extreme loss margin. Additional margins near expiry or in volatile markets come on top.
Is CRUDEOILM (mini) margin smaller?
Yes. The mini contract is a tenth of the size, so its margin per lot is roughly a tenth. Search for CRUDEOILM in the calculator to compare.
Sources
- Peak margin: SEBI circular SEBI/HO/MRD2/DCAP/CIR/P/2020/127, 20 July 2020 (framework to verify upfront collection of margins), listed among SEBI circulars; and Collection and reporting of margins in the cash segment, SEBI, 31 July 2020.
- Expiry-day exposure margin on short options: Measures to strengthen the equity index derivatives framework, SEBI, 1 October 2024 (effective 20 November 2024).
- NSE F&O and cash margins: NSE Clearing margins and NSE Clearing SPAN.
- BSE F&O margins: Indian Clearing Corporation margins and its risk parameter files.
- MCX margins: the daily SPAN risk parameter file published by MCX Clearing Corporation (MCXCCL), on its risk management pages.
Figures updated . Method and text reviewed by the Cirrus team on .
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