Tariff turmoil drives $31bn margin surge at FCMs

- By Joshua Walker
- 30 Apr 2025

The first two weeks of April saw required margin for futures and options across US futures commission merchants (FCMs) soar by $30.9 billion – the largest fortnightly rise since March 2020 – after US president Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs sparked sharp market volatility.

Across 49 reporting FCMs, aggregate required margin reached $331.1 billion as of April 18, up by 10.3% from

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