A futures contract specification tells you what the position represents, how price changes become money, when trading stops and how settlement works. Read it before selecting a contract or sizing an order.

Specifications are product-specific. “Futures” is not one uniform contract, and a broker's margin advertisement is not an exchange specification.

Tick size, multiplier and tick value

Tick size is the permitted minimum price increment for the relevant transaction type. Multiply it by the contract multiplier to obtain the dollar value of one tick per contract.

For the standard outright equity-index examples below:

Contract Multiplier per index point Tick size Tick value
ES $50 0.25 $12.50
MES $5 0.25 $1.25
NQ $20 0.25 $5.00
MNQ $2 0.25 $0.50

See CME's Micro E-mini FAQ for the paired contract structure. Special transaction types or other products can use different increments.

A five-point move in one ES contract is 5 × $50 = $250 before costs. It is also twenty ticks × $12.50. Confusing points with ticks creates a fourfold error in this example.

Notional exposure is different from margin

At a hypothetical index level of 5,200, one ES contract represents $260,000 of notional exposure: 5,200 × $50. This is an arithmetic illustration, not a current market quote.

CME's margin explanation distinguishes the performance bond from buying the underlying asset. Initial and maintenance requirements can change, and a broker can impose additional requirements. Discounted intraday margin is not a maximum-loss amount or a recommendation for sufficient capital.

Commodity units change the arithmetic

WTI crude oil CL represents 1,000 barrels, with an outright $0.01-per-barrel tick worth $10. A $1 move therefore changes one contract's value by $1,000. CME's profit-and-loss lesson explains this conversion.

Gold GC uses 100 troy ounces, so a $0.10-per-ounce tick is $10. Refer to the CME gold product material and the current product specification before trading. Do not assume that every commodity's micro contract has the same settlement arrangement as its larger counterpart.

Hours, expiry and delivery

Use the exact product's current CME trading calendar. Weekends, maintenance, holidays, early closes and price-limit halts matter; a “nearly twenty-four-hour” description does not promise continuous access.

Identify the last trading day, settlement procedure and any first-notice or delivery obligations. Broker close-out deadlines can be earlier than exchange deadlines. Cash settlement does not require delivery of the underlying asset, while physically deliverable contracts can create delivery obligations. Do not rely on automatic broker liquidation as the plan.

Contract month versus continuous chart

A tradable contract has a specific expiry. A continuous chart joins successive contracts for analysis, sometimes with price adjustments. It does not guarantee gap-free data or automatically roll an open position.

Before switching contracts, check liquidity, the platform's symbol convention, orders and positions in both months. Backtests also need an explicit roll and adjustment method; historical chart continuity is not execution evidence.

Pre-trade worksheet

Record the symbol and month, unit, multiplier, tick value, planned price distance, number of contracts, estimated costs, margin, session and settlement deadlines. Calculate both intended loss and an adverse execution scenario.

For a detailed sizing comparison see E-mini versus Micro futures, then review how futures margin works.

Risk Disclaimer: Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. See our full risk disclaimer.