• About
  • Blog
  • Best Brokers Worldwide
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Forex
    EUR/USD Price Analysis: Seems vulnerable near mid-1.0500s amid geopolitical tensions

    EUR/USD Price Analysis: Seems vulnerable near mid-1.0500s amid geopolitical tensions

    Australian Dollar extends gains on higher commodity prices, geopolitical tension in the Middle East

    Australian Dollar extends gains on higher commodity prices, geopolitical tension in the Middle East

    Proof-of-Stake-powered Cryptocurrency COSMOS Launches on 1xBit

    Proof-of-Stake-powered Cryptocurrency COSMOS Launches on 1xBit

    Markets turn cautious as focus shifts to US data, FOMC Minutes

    Markets turn cautious as focus shifts to US data, FOMC Minutes

    Dollar soars on hopes the US could avoid recession despite the aggressive Fed

    Dollar soars on hopes the US could avoid recession despite the aggressive Fed

    Putin allows Russian banks under sanctions to halt some FX operations

    Putin allows Russian banks under sanctions to halt some FX operations

    South Korea probes $3.1bn crypto-linked forex transactions

    South Korea probes $3.1bn crypto-linked forex transactions

    All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger

    All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger

    Paraguay’s crypto framework one step away from becoming law

    Paraguay’s crypto framework one step away from becoming law

  • Education
    Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

    Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

    Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

    Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

    AUD/USD Rises Despite Wall Street Selloff as Chinese Flooding Lifts Coal Prices

    AUD/USD Rises Despite Wall Street Selloff as Chinese Flooding Lifts Coal Prices

    Euro Forecast: EUR/USD Outlook Bleak as Traders Rush for US Dollars

    Euro Forecast: EUR/USD Outlook Bleak as Traders Rush for US Dollars

    RAND UPDATE: ZAR STRENGTH MAY BE SHORT LIVED AHEAD OF BUDGET SPEECH

    RAND UPDATE: ZAR STRENGTH MAY BE SHORT LIVED AHEAD OF BUDGET SPEECH

    CRUDE OIL PRICES MAY RISE ON US STIMULUS HOPES

    CRUDE OIL PRICES MAY RISE ON US STIMULUS HOPES

    IG CLIENT SENTIMENT DATA SENDING BEARISH SIGNALS FOR USD/ JPY, AUD/USD, GBP/ USD

    IG CLIENT SENTIMENT DATA SENDING BEARISH SIGNALS FOR USD/ JPY, AUD/USD, GBP/ USD

    EUR/AUD BREAKOUT COULD GROW LEGS

    EUR/AUD BREAKOUT COULD GROW LEGS

    CHINESE YUAN (CNH) DRIVING CURRENCY MARKETS; HOWEVER, TRUMP RISK REMAINS

    CHINESE YUAN (CNH) DRIVING CURRENCY MARKETS; HOWEVER, TRUMP RISK REMAINS

  • Commodities
    Abu Dhabi’s oil champion ADNOC bets on global expansion

    Abu Dhabi’s oil champion ADNOC bets on global expansion

    Oil prices jump as Middle East violence rattles markets

    Oil prices jump as Middle East violence rattles markets

    Panamanian trade unions reach agreement with government on essential commodities

    Panamanian trade unions reach agreement with government on essential commodities

    Dollar surges and stocks tumble as traders weigh global growth outlook

    Dollar surges and stocks tumble as traders weigh global growth outlook

    Can commodities make a comeback?

    Can commodities make a comeback?

    CME looks to lure retail traders with daily options frowned on in Europe

    CME looks to lure retail traders with daily options frowned on in Europe

    The traders earning $6m+ outside banks and hedge funds

    The traders earning $6m+ outside banks and hedge funds

    CFTC eyes potential oversight of cryptocurrencies, carbon trading – commissioner

    CFTC eyes potential oversight of cryptocurrencies, carbon trading – commissioner

    Palladium: Completely Reverse The Rumors for a Bubble Burst

    Palladium: Completely Reverse The Rumors for a Bubble Burst

  • Cryptocurrencies
    Crypto’s decentralization problem: The word is used too often to justify bad product decisions

    Crypto’s decentralization problem: The word is used too often to justify bad product decisions

    Bitcoin Is Set to Thrive in October—No Matter Where Rates Go, Analyst Says

    Bitcoin Is Set to Thrive in October—No Matter Where Rates Go, Analyst Says

    Ripple Is Considering Buying Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius’ Assets: Report

    Ripple Is Considering Buying Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius’ Assets: Report

    Yen shorts crumble as hot FX trade comes to end

    Yen shorts crumble as hot FX trade comes to end

    Brevan Howard Scores Largest Crypto Hedge Fund Launch Ever

    Brevan Howard Scores Largest Crypto Hedge Fund Launch Ever

    Crypto Is Coming to Esports: The Games and Economics of Tomorrow

    Crypto Is Coming to Esports: The Games and Economics of Tomorrow

    Singapore’s crypto aspirations shaken by Three Arrows collapse

    Singapore’s crypto aspirations shaken by Three Arrows collapse

    Crypto exchange Coinbase looks to expand footprint in Europe

    Crypto exchange Coinbase looks to expand footprint in Europe

    How ETF investors can bet on the crypto crash

    How ETF investors can bet on the crypto crash

FX Access
  • Home
  • Forex
    EUR/USD Price Analysis: Seems vulnerable near mid-1.0500s amid geopolitical tensions

    EUR/USD Price Analysis: Seems vulnerable near mid-1.0500s amid geopolitical tensions

    Australian Dollar extends gains on higher commodity prices, geopolitical tension in the Middle East

    Australian Dollar extends gains on higher commodity prices, geopolitical tension in the Middle East

    Proof-of-Stake-powered Cryptocurrency COSMOS Launches on 1xBit

    Proof-of-Stake-powered Cryptocurrency COSMOS Launches on 1xBit

    Markets turn cautious as focus shifts to US data, FOMC Minutes

    Markets turn cautious as focus shifts to US data, FOMC Minutes

    Dollar soars on hopes the US could avoid recession despite the aggressive Fed

    Dollar soars on hopes the US could avoid recession despite the aggressive Fed

    Putin allows Russian banks under sanctions to halt some FX operations

    Putin allows Russian banks under sanctions to halt some FX operations

    South Korea probes $3.1bn crypto-linked forex transactions

    South Korea probes $3.1bn crypto-linked forex transactions

    All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger

    All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger

    Paraguay’s crypto framework one step away from becoming law

    Paraguay’s crypto framework one step away from becoming law

  • Education
    Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

    Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

    Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

    Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

    AUD/USD Rises Despite Wall Street Selloff as Chinese Flooding Lifts Coal Prices

    AUD/USD Rises Despite Wall Street Selloff as Chinese Flooding Lifts Coal Prices

    Euro Forecast: EUR/USD Outlook Bleak as Traders Rush for US Dollars

    Euro Forecast: EUR/USD Outlook Bleak as Traders Rush for US Dollars

    RAND UPDATE: ZAR STRENGTH MAY BE SHORT LIVED AHEAD OF BUDGET SPEECH

    RAND UPDATE: ZAR STRENGTH MAY BE SHORT LIVED AHEAD OF BUDGET SPEECH

    CRUDE OIL PRICES MAY RISE ON US STIMULUS HOPES

    CRUDE OIL PRICES MAY RISE ON US STIMULUS HOPES

    IG CLIENT SENTIMENT DATA SENDING BEARISH SIGNALS FOR USD/ JPY, AUD/USD, GBP/ USD

    IG CLIENT SENTIMENT DATA SENDING BEARISH SIGNALS FOR USD/ JPY, AUD/USD, GBP/ USD

    EUR/AUD BREAKOUT COULD GROW LEGS

    EUR/AUD BREAKOUT COULD GROW LEGS

    CHINESE YUAN (CNH) DRIVING CURRENCY MARKETS; HOWEVER, TRUMP RISK REMAINS

    CHINESE YUAN (CNH) DRIVING CURRENCY MARKETS; HOWEVER, TRUMP RISK REMAINS

  • Commodities
    Abu Dhabi’s oil champion ADNOC bets on global expansion

    Abu Dhabi’s oil champion ADNOC bets on global expansion

    Oil prices jump as Middle East violence rattles markets

    Oil prices jump as Middle East violence rattles markets

    Panamanian trade unions reach agreement with government on essential commodities

    Panamanian trade unions reach agreement with government on essential commodities

    Dollar surges and stocks tumble as traders weigh global growth outlook

    Dollar surges and stocks tumble as traders weigh global growth outlook

    Can commodities make a comeback?

    Can commodities make a comeback?

    CME looks to lure retail traders with daily options frowned on in Europe

    CME looks to lure retail traders with daily options frowned on in Europe

    The traders earning $6m+ outside banks and hedge funds

    The traders earning $6m+ outside banks and hedge funds

    CFTC eyes potential oversight of cryptocurrencies, carbon trading – commissioner

    CFTC eyes potential oversight of cryptocurrencies, carbon trading – commissioner

    Palladium: Completely Reverse The Rumors for a Bubble Burst

    Palladium: Completely Reverse The Rumors for a Bubble Burst

  • Cryptocurrencies
    Crypto’s decentralization problem: The word is used too often to justify bad product decisions

    Crypto’s decentralization problem: The word is used too often to justify bad product decisions

    Bitcoin Is Set to Thrive in October—No Matter Where Rates Go, Analyst Says

    Bitcoin Is Set to Thrive in October—No Matter Where Rates Go, Analyst Says

    Ripple Is Considering Buying Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius’ Assets: Report

    Ripple Is Considering Buying Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius’ Assets: Report

    Yen shorts crumble as hot FX trade comes to end

    Yen shorts crumble as hot FX trade comes to end

    Brevan Howard Scores Largest Crypto Hedge Fund Launch Ever

    Brevan Howard Scores Largest Crypto Hedge Fund Launch Ever

    Crypto Is Coming to Esports: The Games and Economics of Tomorrow

    Crypto Is Coming to Esports: The Games and Economics of Tomorrow

    Singapore’s crypto aspirations shaken by Three Arrows collapse

    Singapore’s crypto aspirations shaken by Three Arrows collapse

    Crypto exchange Coinbase looks to expand footprint in Europe

    Crypto exchange Coinbase looks to expand footprint in Europe

    How ETF investors can bet on the crypto crash

    How ETF investors can bet on the crypto crash

FX Access
No Result
View All Result

What is Free Margin?

poweradmin by poweradmin
September 29, 2020
Home Education
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

What does “Free Margin” mean?

Margin can be classified as either “used” or “free”.

Used Margin, which is just the aggregate of all the Required Margin from all open positions, was discussed in a previous lesson.

Free Margin is the difference between Equity and Used Margin.

Free Margin refers to the Equity in a trader’s account that is NOT tied up in margin for current open positions.

Free Margin is also known as “Usable Margin” because it’s margin that you can “use”….it’s “usable”.

Free Margin can be thought of as two things:

  1. The amount available to open NEW positions.
  2. The amount that EXISTING positions can move against you before you receive a Margin Call or Stop Out.

Don’t worry about what a Margin Call and Stop Out are. They will be discussed later.
For now, just know they’re bad things. Like acne breakouts, you don’t want to experience them.

How to Calculate Free Margin

Here’s how to calculate Free Margin:

Free Margin = Equity – Used Margin
If you have open positions, and they are currently profitable, your Equity will increase, which means that you will have more Free Margin as well.

Floating profits increase Equity, which increases Free Margin.

If your open positions are losing money, your Equity will decrease, which means that you will also have less Free Margin as well.

Floating losses decrease Equity, which decreases Free Margin.

Example: No Open Positions

Let’s start with an easy example.

You deposit $1,000 in your trading account.

You don’t have any open positions, what is your Free Margin?

Step 1: Calculate Equity

If you don’t have any open position, calculating the Equity is easy.

Equity = Account Balance + Floating Profits (or Losses)

$1,000 = $1,000 + $0
The Equity would be the SAME as your Balance.

Since you don’t have any open positions, you don’t have any floating profits or losses.

Step 2: Calculate Free Margin

If you don’t have any open positions, then the Free Margin is the SAME as the Equity.

Free Margin = Equity – Used Margin

$1,000 = $1,000 – $0
Since you don’t have any open positions, there is no margin being “used”.

This means that your Free Margin will be the same as your Balance and Equity.

Example: Open a Long USD/JPY Position

Now let’s make it a bit more complicated by entering a trade!

Let’s say you have an account balance of $1,000.

Step 1: Calculate Required Margin

You want to go long USD/JPY and want to open 1 mini lot (10,000 units) position. The Margin Requirement is 4%.

How much margin (Required Margin) will you need to open the position?

Since USD is the base currency. this mini lot is 10,000 dollars, which means the position’s Notional Value is $10,000.

Required Margin = Notional Value x Margin Requirement

$400 = $10,000 x .04
Assuming your trading account is denominated in USD, since the Margin Requirement is 4%, the Required Margin will be $400.

Step 2: Calculate Used Margin

Aside from the trade we just entered, there aren’t any other trades open.

Since we just have a SINGLE position open, the Used Margin will be the same as Required Margin.

Step 3: Calculate Equity

Let’s assume that the price has moved slightly in your favor and your position is now trading at breakeven.

This means that your floating P/L is $0.

Let’s calculate your Equity:

Equity = Account Balance + Floating Profits (or Losses)

$1,000 = $1,000 + $0
The Equity in your account is now $1,000.

Step 4: Calculate Free Margin

Now that we know the Equity, we can now calculate the Free Margin:

Free Margin = Equity – Used Margin

$600 = $1,000 – $400
The Free Margin is $600.

As you can see, another way to look at Equity is that is the sum of your Used and Free margin.

Equity = Used Margin + Free Margin

Recap

In this lesson, we learned about the following:

  • Free Margin is the money that is NOT “locked up” due to an open position and can be used to open new positions.
  • When Free Margin is at zero or less,  additional positions cannot be opened.

In previous lessons, we learned:

  • What is Margin Trading? Learn why it’s important to understand how your margin account works.
  • What is Balance? Your account balance is the cash you have available in your trading account.
  • What is Unrealized and Realized P/L? Know how profit or losses affect your account balance.
  • What is Margin? Required Margin is the amount of money that is set aside and “locked up” when you open a position.
  • What is Used Margin? Used Margin is the total amount of margin that’s currently “locked up” to maintain all open positions.
  • What is Equity? Equity is your Balance plus the floating profit (or loss) of all your open positions.

Let’s move on and learn about the concept of Margin Level.

Tags: Margin Trading 101: Understand How Your Margin Account Works
poweradmin

poweradmin

Next Post
What is Margin Level?

What is Margin Level?

Please login to join discussion

Recommended.

Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

October 9, 2023
Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

October 9, 2023
China-EU relationship is at a crossroads, top official says in Beijing

China-EU relationship is at a crossroads, top official says in Beijing

October 9, 2023
The U.S. is weaker now than when we downgraded in 2011, former S&P ratings chairman says

The U.S. is weaker now than when we downgraded in 2011, former S&P ratings chairman says

October 9, 2023
Abu Dhabi’s oil champion ADNOC bets on global expansion

Abu Dhabi’s oil champion ADNOC bets on global expansion

October 9, 2023
FX Access

FX Access tells you what’s new in politics, investment and economic, why it matters, how it works and what you need.

Follow Us

Categories

  • Commodities
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Economic
  • Education
  • Forex

Recent News

Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

Q4 Trade Opportunity: EUR/CAD Long-Term Reversal as Oil, Inflation Rise

October 9, 2023
Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

Australian Dollar Dips as US Dollar Rallies After Israel Attack. Lower AUD/USD?

October 9, 2023
  • About
  • Blog
  • Best Brokers Worldwide
  • Contact

© 2022 FX Access | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Forex
  • Education
  • Commodities
  • Cryptocurrencies

© 2022 FX Access | All rights reserved.