Comex Raises Margin Rates on Gold Contracts by 47%, Silver 20%

By Stuart Wallace

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange raised margin payments on gold and silver futures by as much as 47 percent after price swings accelerated.

The margin rate for Comex members advances to $5,500 a gold contract from today, from $3,750, the exchange said in an e- mailed statement late yesterday. The new rate for non-members is $7,425, from $5,063. One contract represents 100 ounces.

For silver futures, members will pay a margin rate of $6,000, compared with $5,000 previously. Non-members will pay $8,100, from $6,750. One silver contract represents 5,000 ounces.

The rates represent the cash traders must put aside when buying and selling the commodities. Gold surged the most in nine years on Sept. 17 while silver rose the most since 1979.