Today in pursuance of the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) By-Laws and the Clearing Rules of the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC) margin requirements were hiked across a number of different futures contracts. There was no word on whether recent market volitilty was reason for the margin hikes or this was something that was preplanned, nevertheless it will cost traders a bit more margin in order to engage trading in futures contracts through the DGCX.
The following margin revisions were hiked in a notice to members of the exchange today:
Delivery Margin, wherever applicable, on the above Classes of Contracts shall be five (5) times of the Initial Margins. Initial Margins for all other Classes of Contracts not listed above shall remain unchanged.
We can assume at least that the change in the WTI Crude Oil contract (where margin requirements doubled from $3,000 to $6,000) was due to the recent slide and volitility in oil prices. The preceeding changes will go into effect starting Monday, September 7th.
To view the official announcement, click here (PDF).