EU Retail Leverage Limits Set Minimum Margin at 5% for Gold CFDs and 10% for Oil

Limassol, Cyprus, Oct. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Under the retail CFD rules now in force across the EU, gold and oil carry different margin minimums of 5% for gold and 10% for oil, even when the two look similar on a chart.¹ For a retail trader, that difference sets how much of a position’s value must be committed to open it. Libertex, regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under CIF License 164/12 and operated in Europe by Indication Investments Ltd., breaks down how those minimums differ across gold, oil, currency and crypto CFDs, and what to check before opening a position. For traders evaluating an online broker's regulation, fees and risk, regulatory leverage caps set the minimum margin, while a broker may require more.

"Gold and oil can look alike on a chart, but they don't ask for the same margin," said Marios Chailis, CMO at Libertex Group. "If you size an oil trade the way you'd size a gold trade, at maximum leverage you're putting up twice the margin." 

EU Retail Leverage Limits by Asset Class

The limits were set by ESMA in 2018³ and are applied through national rules, including CySEC Directive DI87-09 in Cyprus, most recently amended in September 2025.² The maximum leverage on a retail CFD account depends on the volatility of the underlying asset. Major currency pairs carry the highest limit and cryptocurrencies the lowest. Each limit converts directly into a minimum initial margin: 20:1 leverage means at least 5% of the position's value must be deposited, and 2:1 means at least 50%.¹

Minimum Margin to Open a €10,000 CFD Position on a Retail Account

Asset class	Maximum retail leverage	Minimum initial margin	Minimum margin on €10,000
Major currency pairs, such as EUR/USD	30:1	3.33%	€333
Non-major currency pairs and gold	20:1	5%	€500
Commodities other than gold, such as oil	10:1	10%	€1,000
Individual stocks	5:1	20%	€2,000
Cryptocurrencies	2:1	50%	€5,000

Why Gold CFDs Get More Leverage Than Oil CFDs

The rules place gold alongside non-major currency pairs at 20:1, while oil, natural gas and other commodities carry the 10:1 limit. ESMA set gold's limit after its analysis of historical prices found that, at the same probability of a margin close-out, gold CFDs could carry roughly twice the leverage of oil CFDs.³ That historical finding does not mean gold will move less than oil in the future.

A trader choosing where to trade gold should confirm the broker holds a CySEC or other EU license, that retail leverage stays within the 20:1 limit, and that the required margin appears on screen when they place an order. Libertex offers CFDs on gold and oil alongside more than 1,000 underlying assets on its proprietary platform.

Gold and oil prices can both move sharply around supply news, central bank decisions and inventory data. Leverage magnifies the resulting gains and losses relative to the margin committed.

How Margin Close-Out Works Across a Retail Account

The same rules set a margin close-out level, often called a stop-out, for every retail account. When account equity falls below 50% of the total regulatory minimum initial margin for all open CFD positions, the broker must close one or more of them.¹

That threshold applies across all open positions together. Assuming both use the regulatory minimum margin, a crypto CFD requiring €5,000 and a gold CFD requiring €500 give a combined minimum of €5,500, so close-out is required once account equity falls below €2,750, and a loss on one position can trigger the close-out of another.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How much money do I need to open a gold or forex CFD trade?

Answer: It depends on the position size and the asset. At the EU retail limits, a €1,000 position needs at least €50 in margin on gold and €33.33 on a major currency pair such as EUR/USD, and a broker may require more.

Question: Does a lower margin requirement mean a smaller potential loss?

Answer: No. Margin is what a position needs to open, not the most it can lose. For two €10,000 positions held in the same direction, the same adverse percentage price move produces the same trading loss before costs. At the regulatory leverage caps, however, the gold position requires €500 in initial margin and the oil position requires €1,000. Negative balance protection limits a retail client's maximum losses from CFD trading, including related costs, to the funds in the CFD trading account.

Question: Can a broker ask for more margin than the EU minimum?

Answer: Yes. The EU rules set the maximum leverage a broker can offer a retail client, so a broker can set a higher margin requirement on any instrument. The required margin for each instrument appears in its trading specifications.

Question: Can a broker offer more than 30:1 leverage to retail traders in the EU?

Answer: No. An EU-authorized broker cannot offer retail clients more than the limit set for each asset class, and 30:1 on major currency pairs is the highest. Higher leverage offered to a retail trader points to a firm outside EU regulation, or to that client being treated as professional rather than retail.

Question: Does leverage apply when buying real stocks?

Answer: Not when shares are bought outright. On Libertex, real stocks are a separate product from stock CFDs. Owning real shares involves no leverage, while a stock CFD carries the 5:1 retail limit.

Before opening a position, check the instrument's required margin and how the trade would affect the account's combined margin and close-out level. Libertex, named Best Global Broker at the 2025 Ultimate Fintech Awards and part of the Libertex Group founded in 1997, offers a €50,000 demo account on the same proprietary high-performance platform used for live trading, where both can be tested with simulated capital.

Sources: 

¹ Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. Directive DI87-09 for the Restriction on the Marketing, Distribution or Sale of Contracts for Differences (CFDs) to Retail Clients. CySEC, 2019, amended Sept. 2025.

² “CySEC Caps CFD Leverage at 10:1 for Non-Major Commodities and Indices.” FinanceFeeds, 2025, financefeeds.com/cysec-caps-cfd-leverage-at-101-for-non-major-commodities-and-indices/.

³ European Securities and Markets Authority. Decision (EU) 2018/796 to Temporarily Restrict Contracts for Differences in the Union in Accordance with Article 40 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014. ESMA, 2018. 

About Libertex

Libertex is a multi-award-winning online broker and part of the Libertex Group, founded in 1997. Operated in Europe by Indication Investments Ltd., regulated and supervised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under CIF License 164/12. The platform provides access to global financial markets, including forex, commodities, indices, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies via CFDs, as well as real stocks.

Libertex serves clients through its proprietary high-performance trading platform, has received 45+ international industry awards, and is the Official Online Trading Partner of the Audi Revolut F1 Team.

Learn more: https://libertex.com

Risk Warning

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Sabrina Nuñez
Content writer, Zen Media
PR@zenmedia.com