Notice to Members
Notice No. 238
08/23/2002
Margin Rate Changes For Henry Hub Swaps and Henry Hub Natural Gas and e-miNY Natural Gas Futures Contracts
Effective Date: Friday, August 23, 2002 (close of business)

Futures Contracts: Natural Gas (NG) Futures, Henry Hub Swap (NN), e-miNY Natural Gas Futures

Contract Months: First Six Months

NYMEX Division Outright Margins on Henry Hub Natural Gas (NG) Futures Contracts

  Clearing Member Member Customer Non-Member Customer
  New Old New Old New Old
Tier 1 (1st Nearby Month) $3,000 $2,500 $3,300 $2,750 $4,050 $3,375
Tier 2 (2nd Nearby Month) $3,000 $2,500 $3,300 $2,750 $4,050 $3,375
Tier 3 (3rd - 6th Nearby Months) $3,000 $2,500 $3,300 $2,750 $4,050 $3,375
Tier 4 (7th - 12th Nearby Months)   $2,500   $2,750   $3,375
Tier 5 (Greater than 12th Nearby)   $2,500   $2,750   $3,375

Because SPAN™ converts NN contracts into NG contracts for performance bond calculations, NN outright margins, inter-commodity spread margins, intra-commodity spread credits and spot month assessment are equivalent to NG, respectively, in a 4:1 ratio.


NYMEX Division Outright Margins on Henry Hub Swap (NN) Contracts

  Clearing Member Member Customer Non-Member Customer
  New Old New Old New Old
Tier 1 (1st Nearby Month) $750 $625 $825 $688 $1,012 $844
Tier 2 (2nd Nearby Month) $750 $625 $825 $688 $1,012 $844
Tier 3 (3rd - 6th Nearby Months) $750 $625 $825 $688 $1,012 $844
Tier 4 (7th - 12th Nearby Months)   $625   $688   $844
Tier 5 (Greater than 12th Nearby)   $625   $688   $844


NYMEX Division Outright Margins on e-miNY Natural Gas Futures Contracts (5:2 Ratio)

  Clearing Member Member Customer Non-Member Customer
  New Old New Old New Old
All Months $1,200 $1,000 $1,320 $1,100 $1,620 $1,350


Current systems calculate the margin requirement for spread positions by first determining the "Scan Risk" and then multiplying the number of spreads by a rate set by the Exchange. Scan Risk is determined by netting the outright margin required for each leg of a spread. Spreading between differently margined contracts results in a higher spread margin than between equally margined contracts. Below is provided an example where the legs of a spread are margined differently.

Scan Risk Example at Clearing Member Rates (NG)
A spread consisting of one leg in Tier 1 and another in Tier 4 will have its requirement (at the clearing member rates) calculated at $1,000 starting on Friday, August 23, 2002.

One Long Tier 1 NG (1 * $3,000) = $3,000
One Short Tier 4 NG (1 * $2,500) = $2,500
Net Scan Risk ($3,000 - $2,500) = $500
Spread Rate (1 * $500) = $500
Total Requirement = $1,000


This notice supersedes all previous notices regarding outright and spread margins for the NYMEX Natural Gas (NG) futures contract, the NYMEX Henry Hub Swap (NN) futures contract, and the e-Mini Natural Gas Futures Contract.
Should you have any questions or require any further information, please contact exchangeinfo@nymex.com