CME Raises Gold, Silver Margins in Wake of Historic Precious Metals Crash

Written by: Olumide Adesina • Sunday, February 1, 2026

Quick overview

• CME Group is raising margins on Comex gold and silver futures due to increased market volatility.
• Gold margins will rise from 6% to 8% for non-heightened risk profiles, while silver margins will increase from 11% to 15%.
• The changes also affect palladium and platinum futures, requiring traders to provide more collateral.
• Recent market conditions led to significant declines in gold and silver prices, prompting the margin adjustments.

CME Group is increasing margins on Comex gold and silver futures. The exchange said in a statement on Friday that gold margins will increase from the current 6 percent for a non-heightened risk profile to 8 percent of the underlying contract’s value. According to the report, the elevated risk profile margins will rise from the current 6.6 percent to 8.8 percent.

According to the statement, silver margins for non-heightened risk profiles will increase to 15 percent from 11 percent, while those for heightened risk profiles will increase to 16.5 percent from 12.1 percent. The margin on palladium and platinum futures will also increase. The modification, which comes after a “normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage,” is effective as of Monday’s close

Traders of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium futures will have to provide more collateral to guarantee they can fulfill their obligations. Even so, the exchange regularly increases margins.

Gold experienced its largest intraday decline since the early 1980s, falling more than 12 percent to fall below $5,000 per ounce.

Silver fell as much as 36% as the selloff swept through the larger metals markets, a record intraday decline. Copper dropped 3.4 percent from its all-time high on Thursday. A sell-off of commodity currencies, such as the Swedish krona and the Australian dollar, helped the dollar soar.

Source: https://www.fxleaders.com/news/2026/02/01/cme-raises-gold-silver-margins-in-wake-of-historic-precious-metals-crash/