How Do The New Margin Levels Compare to Other Markets?
In the U.S. equity markets, most traders are limited to using 2:1 leverage in their trading. Another way of stating this is that a minimum of 50% of the notional transaction size is required as margin. Additionally, as of this writing, the initial margin requirement on a $125,000 EuroFX futures contract (EUR/USD) is about $4,725. Thats roughly a 4% initial margin requirement or roughly 25:1 leverage.
