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Silver Futures (SI) Contract Specifications

What you're trading

The COMEX Silver future (SI) gives you exposure to 5,000 troy ounces of 0.999-fineness silver with physical delivery through COMEX-approved vaults. Silver is both a precious metal (used as a store of value) and an industrial metal (solar panels, electronics, medical applications), which gives SI a different trading profile from gold: silver tends to be more volatile, more correlated to industrial cycles, and more sensitive to retail demand. SI is the primary venue for hedging silver production, jewelry fabrication, and industrial consumption.

Contract size

5,000 troy ounces of silver. 

Tick value

Minimum price fluctuation is $0.005 per troy ounce, and each tick is worth $25.00 per contract. A $0.10 move in the per-ounce price equals $500, and a $1.00 move equals $5,000 per contract — silver's larger contract size magnifies P&L relative to gold on a per-dollar-of-metal basis.

Trading hours

CME Globex: Sunday 5:00 p.m. CT through Friday 4:00 p.m. CT, with the 4:00–5:00 p.m. CT maintenance halt Monday through Thursday.

Settlement type

Physically delivered. Active delivery months are March, May, July, September, and December, plus the current and next two calendar months. Trading terminates on the third-last business day of the delivery month. Roll or close positions before last trading day to avoid delivery.

Margin snapshot

Silver has historically been more volatile than gold, so SI margin tends to be larger relative to notional than GC margin.

Initial margin (overnight)

~$18,000–$24,000 per contract (approximate; varies with volatility)

Maintenance margin

~$16,400–$21,800 per contract

Day-trade margin

Broker-set; often a fraction of overnight margin

Notional value (reference)

~$160,000 at $32/oz

Margins change with market volatility and vary by broker. The figures above are approximate and for reference only — always confirm current requirements with MetroTrade support or on the CME margin page before trading.

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