A daily transfer, not just a screen number
Futures positions are marked to an exchange's settlement price. The resulting settlement variation moves gains and losses in cash through the clearing system. For an existing position, the change is measured from the previous settlement; a new trade is first measured from its transaction price. Daily settlement is separate from the margin collateral required to support the position. These mechanics explain why a price view and a cash-management plan are different parts of the same decision.
Follow a deliberately small teaching example
Imagine an unchanged long exposure equivalent to 100 troy ounces, entered at $30 per ounce. This is an arbitrary teaching quantity, not a specification of a listed silver contract. If the first settlement is $29, the price change is minus $1 per ounce: a $100 loss. If the next settlement is $31, the change from $29 is plus $2 per ounce: a $200 gain. The two cash movements sum to plus $100 before costs.
The final result does not erase the first demand
The same net result follows from 100 ounces multiplied by the change from $30 to $31. But that arithmetic does not remove the intervening $100 loss. The account must meet its obligations when they fall due. If losses reduce account equity below required levels, additional resources may be needed and the position can face liquidation. Someone unable to maintain the position might never participate in the later recovery assumed by the example.
Read the actual contract and account rules
Real cash requirements depend on contract size, price changes, margin requirements, broker policies and settlement procedures. Additional calls can occur before the end of the day, and costs alter the net result. A short position reverses the price-related gains and losses in this simplified example. Margin is not a purchase price or a maximum-loss guarantee. The lesson is about timing: a favourable eventual outcome cannot substitute for sufficient resources throughout the life of an open position.
Sources & further reading
- CME Group — Mark-to-Market ↗
- CME Group — Money Calculations for CME-cleared Futures and Options ↗
- CME Group — Daily settlements ↗
Sources checked 14 November 2026. Reference organisations do not endorse this website. Price examples are hypothetical and educational.