Used Margin

Used margin is the amount of funds allocated to maintain an open position.

When trading with leverage, you can amplify your capital to open larger positions. The margin required to open a position depends on how much leverage you’re using. The greater the leverage used, means less margin is required to maintain the position. For example, if you have a 5,000 GBP/USD position and the leverage setting is 1:30, the used margin is £166.67.

Margin requirements are defined before opening a position, meaning the used margin doesn’t fluctuate because of market conditions. Used margin is only influenced by increasing or decreasing positions. If your trading account is flat, meaning you don’t have any positions, it means your used margin is zero. As your used margin increases, free margin and margin level decrease, as you have less margin available for sustaining unrealised losses and opening new positions, which would use additional margin.