Exchange minima and broker requirements can differ, especially across venues and three-leg structures. This guide keeps the exchange, dated legs and historical-data boundary visible so the quoted relationship can be checked.
Start with the exact legs
A margin question has no reliable single answer without contract month, year, direction, ratio, account and clearing arrangement. MIAX publishes outright and spread maintenance margins for its Minneapolis product. Its schedule effective May 13, 2026 lists, for example, a $500 maintenance spread rate for December 2026 versus March 2027; that document is a dated exchange minimum, not a quote for every broker or every future date.
The same MIAX schedule lists other combinations at different rates and says margins are measured daily and can change. Initial requirements may be higher than maintenance. Brokerage risk departments may add house margin or refuse offsets for a particular account.
Cross-venue is different
A Minneapolis MWE versus Kansas City KE pair spans MIAX and CME. Do not copy an MIAX intra-market calendar rate to that pair. Also do not copy CME’s HRS–KE offset to an MIAX–KE position: CME’s HRS is a distinct CBOT spring wheat contract that may clear alongside Kansas City at CME.
For a butterfly, ask whether the clearing and broker systems recognize the 1:−2:1 ratio as one structure or margin the legs separately. The fact that its net price is small does not imply its cash requirement is small.
A useful broker request
Supply the four things the broker needs: full dated symbols and venues, side and quantity of every leg, account type and intended holding period. Ask for initial and maintenance margin, overnight rules, delivery cutoff and an example of how an adverse spread move affects available equity.
Historical P&L on FuturesSpread is gross of fees and does not estimate your exact margin. The site’s MGE archive has no current verified quotes, so a current funding calculation also requires fresh, validated market prices.
See the dated contracts behind the formula
Explore matched historical Minneapolis prices, individual years and the selected date window. The dataset has no verified current MGE spread.
Open MGE Historical Research →Primary sources
Exchange and USDA sources establish product definitions and context. Recheck the current rules and dates before using a contract.
Continue this series
Educational historical research, not investment advice. Futures and multi-leg spreads involve substantial loss, execution and delivery risk. Historical results do not guarantee future outcomes. Imported Minneapolis prices stop on 24 October 2025; current quotes and margin must be verified independently.