Gold mini (GOLDM) margin on MCX
Gold mini (GOLDM) is the smaller MCX gold future: 100 grams, quoted per 10 grams. It suits traders who find the 1 kg GOLD contract too large, and its margin per lot is about a tenth of the big contract’s.
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
| ₹1,10,920 | ₹17,331 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹6,413 | ₹1,34,664 |
Expiry
- Buy 1 lot, nearest expiry MCX file of 30 Oct 2026
- Buy GOLDM future, 1 lot (10 units)
- SPAN
- ₹1,10,920
- Exposure
- ₹17,331
- Option value
- ₹0
- Premium
- ₹0
- Stocks, minimums and 5% buffer
- ₹6,413
- Total
- ₹1,34,664
≈ 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
MCX Clearing sets the initial margin with SPAN, the worst one-day loss across its scenarios, and MCX publishes a minimum margin as a percentage of contract value; the estimate uses whichever is higher, then adds extreme loss margin. Gold usually moves less than crude oil, so it needs a smaller margin for the same contract value.
Gold contracts carry delivery obligations near expiry. When a contract is in its tender period, the exchange adds delivery margins that this estimate does not include, and the calculator flags it. The table uses the nearest contract in the file. Gold petal and gold guinea are smaller still; search for 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.
Gold mini (MCX) questions
What is the margin for gold mini on MCX?
Initial margin from the MCX Clearing risk file, at least the minimum MCX sets for the contract, plus extreme loss margin. The table shows the figure from the latest file for one lot.
How does GOLDM margin compare with GOLD?
The rates are similar, but a GOLDM lot is a tenth of the size of a GOLD lot, so it needs about a tenth of the margin.
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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