Margin extension and adjustment of trading limits! Shanghai Futures Exchange and Shanghai Futures Energy make further moves

The exchange once again takes action to prevent risks.

On March 9, most of the main contracts for domestic bulk commodity futures closed higher. The Container Shipping Index (European line) hit the daily limit; the energy and chemical sector experienced a surge in limit-up hits, with crude oil, fuel oil, pure benzene, styrene, asphalt, BR rubber, liquefied gas, bottle chips, and others reaching the daily limit.

After the market close on March 9, the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) and the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) issued 10 notices to further tighten risk control parameters for contracts related to crude oil, fuel oil, low-sulfur fuel oil, the Container Shipping Index (European line), petroleum asphalt, butadiene rubber futures, and others. The aim is to alert risks through adjustments in trading fees, price limits, margin requirements, and trading quotas.

The SFE and INE issued notices on market risk control, noting that recent Middle East developments have made the commodity markets more uncertain and unpredictable, with significant price fluctuations in futures for crude oil, low-sulfur fuel oil, fuel oil, petroleum asphalt, and butadiene rubber. Relevant units are advised to monitor market dynamics, take strong measures, strengthen compliance management of trading behaviors, and further enhance investor education to raise risk awareness, participate rationally, trade compliantly, and jointly maintain market stability.

Exchanges again emphasize expanding limits

The INE announced that starting from the close on March 10, 2026 (Tuesday), the price limit and margin requirements for crude oil and low-sulfur fuel oil futures contracts will be adjusted as follows:

Crude oil futures contracts sc2701, sc2702, sc2703, sc2706, sc2709, sc2712, sc2803, sc2806, sc2809, sc2812, sc2903 will have a 20% price limit, with a 21% margin for position keeping and a 22% margin for general positions.

Low-sulfur fuel oil futures contracts lu2611, lu2612, lu2701, lu2702, lu2703 will also have a 20% price limit, with a 21% margin for position keeping and a 22% margin for general positions.

Additionally, starting from the night trading session on March 9, 2026, non-futures company members, overseas special non-broker participants, and clients will have a maximum of 400 lots for intraday opening trades in crude oil futures contracts; for low-sulfur fuel oil futures, the maximum will be 1,500 lots.

The SFE will also adjust trading limits for fuel oil futures and related contracts, as well as the price limits and margin requirements for petroleum asphalt and butadiene rubber futures.

From the close on March 10, 2026, contracts for petroleum asphalt bu2607, bu2608, bu2609, bu2610, bu2611, bu2612, bu2701, bu2702, bu2703, bu2706, bu2709, bu2712 will have a 12% price limit, with a 13% margin for position keeping and a 14% margin for general positions. For butadiene rubber futures br2603, br2606, br2607, br2608, br2609, br2610, br2611, br2612, br2701, br2702, the same limits apply.

Starting from the night trading session on March 9, 2026, non-futures members, overseas special non-broker participants, and clients will be limited to 1,500 lots for intraday opening trades in fuel oil futures.

Furthermore, both the SFE and INE will adjust trading fees for fuel oil, crude oil, and low-sulfur fuel oil futures contracts.

From March 11, 2026 (the night session on March 10), trading fees for listed fuel oil futures contracts will be set at 0.0001 of the transaction amount; intraday and closing position trading fees will be 0.0003 of the transaction amount. Crude oil futures trading fees will be 40 yuan per lot, with intraday and closing position fees at 240 yuan per lot. For low-sulfur fuel oil futures, the trading fee will also be 0.0001 of the transaction amount, with intraday and closing position fees at 0.0003 of the transaction amount.

Restrictions on opening positions for some clients

The SFE also imposed restrictions on certain accounts. The notice states that on March 9, a group of accounts with actual control relationships exceeded the daily trading limit for relevant contracts, leading the SFE to implement trading restrictions on those accounts.

“By issuing these risk control measures on crude oil, high- and low-sulfur fuel oil, petroleum asphalt, and butadiene rubber futures, the exchanges aim to curb excessive market enthusiasm, effectively release risks, and maintain market stability. Participants are advised to be aware of market volatility and manage their positions and funds prudently,” said Feng Jie, Chief Researcher at Galaxy Futures Research Institute.

Additionally, the INE released regulatory information for February 2026.

In February 2026, regarding abnormal trading behavior, 8 cases were handled, including 7 for self-trading exceeding limits and 1 for frequent order cancellations exceeding limits, all through member notifications. For actual control relationship accounts, 178 groups involving 401 clients were identified, and 12 groups involving 28 clients were subject to further investigation.

The INE reminds traders to pay attention to compliance risks and properly report actual control relationship accounts in daily trading.

What will the market trend look like?

On March 9, most of the main domestic bulk commodity futures contracts closed higher, with the Container Shipping Index (European line) and the energy and chemical sector again hitting the daily limit-up. How do analysts view the ongoing surge in commodity prices?

“Current oil prices have risen beyond market expectations. As prices approach historical highs, the risk of overbought conditions has increased,” said Sui Xiaoying, Energy and Chemical Researcher at Founder Mid-term Futures Research Institute. “The geopolitical situation in the Middle East is uncertain. If tensions ease or international measures such as releasing strategic reserves are implemented to curb oil prices, the upward momentum may slow or even reverse sharply. Traders holding long positions with profits should consider reducing their positions to avoid losses from a potential correction.”

Sui Xiaoying also noted that due to the previous unexpected rally, the price of crude oil futures listed by the SFE (referred to as “SC crude oil”) was at a premium compared to European and American oil prices. With the recent acceleration in US and European crude oil prices, the price gap between domestic and foreign markets is expected to gradually normalize.

Hegan, Senior Manager at Zhejiang Wuchan Chemical Group Ningbo Co., Ltd., pointed out that geopolitical tensions remain high, the Strait of Hormuz has not yet reopened, but the market’s inventory backlog of nearly 1.239 billion barrels suggests that fundamentals will eventually loosen. In the short term, international oil prices are likely to remain volatile. To address market fluctuations, the exchanges have introduced multiple risk control measures, including adjusting price limits and margin requirements for crude oil and low-sulfur fuel oil, as well as trading quotas. These combined measures aim to cool the market, maintain stability, ensure liquidity, and protect investors’ rights.

Regarding the rubber sector, Feng Shengjie, Head of the Chemical Team at Galaxy Futures Research Institute, said that due to the impact of conflicts involving the US, Israel, and Iran, crude oil has performed strongly, which has recently driven synthetic rubber prices to outperform natural rubber.

“However, we should also recognize that geopolitical tensions have a bearish effect on macro consumption, as evidenced by falling stock markets and relatively weak natural rubber prices. Since March, Baltic freight indices have doubled, and high freight costs often negatively impact commodities,” Feng said. “As of early March, inventories of butadiene rubber at factories, traders, and futures warehouses have hit record highs. High industry inventories exert a negative influence on the valuation of butadiene rubber contracts. If geopolitical tensions ease, a correction in the rubber sector is possible.”

(Source: The Paper)