--- title: "CME Changes Margin Calculation As Silver Eyes $100 Per Ounce" type: "News" locale: "zh-HK" url: "https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/272545961.md" description: "The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has updated its margin requirements for precious metals, linking them to contract value rather than fixed amounts. This change aims to enhance risk controls as silver prices surge, with spot silver recently exceeding $90/oz. The move is driven by geopolitical tensions and supply constraints, leading to a persistent global silver deficit. Despite the rally, silver prices remain below inflation-adjusted historical highs, highlighting a disconnect between paper prices and physical availability." datetime: "2026-01-14T11:26:15.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/272545961.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/272545961.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/272545961.md) --- > 支持的語言: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/272545961.md) | [English](https://longbridge.com/en/news/272545961.md) # CME Changes Margin Calculation As Silver Eyes $100 Per Ounce The **Chicago Mercantile Exchange** (CME) has moved to tighten risk controls in the precious metals market. On Tuesday, January 13, the exchange shifted a margin requirement from fixed dollar amounts to a percentage of contract value as prices accelerated to record levels. Under the old framework, CME charged a flat margin per futures contract and adjusted requirements only during periods of extreme market stress. The new system automatically links margin requirements to the metal's price. As prices rise, the amount of cash traders must post increases in tandem, reducing effective leverage and forcing market participants to hold more collateral just to maintain existing positions. It is a self-adjusting risk mechanism designed to keep pace with fast-moving markets. ## The Unstoppable Rally The main culprit for the move is silver. In the first fourteen days of 2026, spot silver surged by more than 24%, rising above $90/oz and building upon a 148% gain in 2025. Geopolitical tensions and tightening inventories drove fresh inflows toward precious metals, while the latest soft inflation data reinforced expectations of the Fed's cuts. The fundamental driver is a combination of persistent structural deficit and unusually inelastic supply. Roughly 70% to 80% of global silver output is produced as a byproduct of mining other metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and gold, limiting the ability of supply to respond quickly to higher prices. The consultancy firm **BMI** reported it expects the global deficit to persist throughout 2026, driven primarily by higher investment demand and constrained physical availability. "As non-yielding assets, silver and platinum have both benefited from interest rate cuts; but they have also indirectly benefited from the elevated gold price, which has made both metals cheap relative to gold," BMI wrote, according to Mining.com. The firm also pointed to Beijing's export restrictions on physical silver since January 1 as a further squeeze on inventories in London and Zurich, briefly pushing lease rates above 8%. ## Far From Real All-Time High Silver's long-term price history adds further perspective. If silver's 1980 peak of $50/oz were adjusted for official inflation, the metal would trade at least at $150/oz today. This number shows that, despite a superb rally in nominal terms, prices are still far below the real-term record prices. That tension between paper prices and physical availability is already visible on the ground. Spot silver broke through $90/oz for the first time on Wednesday morning, but bullion dealers in hubs such as Dubai are reportedly selling physical coins for no less than $120/oz. Such a disconnect best highlights the real-time price discovery in a market with increasingly dominant supply constraints. **Price Watch**: **Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF** (NASDAQ:SLVR) is up 11.47% year-to-date. _Image by natatravel via Shutterstock_ ### 相關股票 - [CME (CME.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/CME.US.md) ## 相關資訊與研究 - [What to Expect From CME Group's Q1 2026 Earnings Report](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281007955.md) - [CME Governance Proposal Shifts Class B Influence And Investor Focus](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/280865564.md) - [LIVESTOCK-CME cattle slightly higher as traders weigh demand](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/280685510.md) - [CME Posts Higher March Average Daily Volume](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281519445.md) - [LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures higher as traders focus on JBS plant strike](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/280848288.md)