CME Price Limit Buffer Policy
At Hyperticks, protecting our traders from extreme volatility and artificial price movements is a priority. To ensure a fair and stable trading environment, we enforce a 2% buffer zone around CME's established price limits. This policy is in place across all Hyperticks accounts — evaluation, simulated funded, and instant funded.
What Are CME Price Limits?
A price limit is the maximum price range a futures contract can move in a single session. Once this threshold is reached, the exchange may halt trading, expand the limit, or in some cases suspend trading for the day. These measures are meant to stabilize markets during extreme conditions.
Price limits vary by product, contract month, and time of day. For example, overnight trading sessions often have wider limits compared to regular market hours. Updated limits are published daily by CME at 5:05 PM EST and can be viewed on the CME Group Price Limits page.
Rule Summary
You may not open trades when price action is within 2% of a CME price limit (either up or down) based on the most recent daily settlement price.
This ensures that traders avoid entering the market when conditions are highly unstable and prevents attempts to exploit price limit dynamics.
How to Monitor Compliance
The most effective way to monitor your proximity to a price limit is to add the % Net Change column to your trading platform's quote board. This displays how far current prices are from the settlement, making it easy to know if you are within the buffer.
Calculation Examples
Example | Settlement | Calculation | Result |
1: 5% Price Limit (Normal Hours) | 2814.00 | 5% limit = 2814 × 1.05 = 2954.70 | Do not trade above 2898.42 or below 2730.28 |
2: 7% Price Limit (Extended Hours – Limit Down) | 2814.00 | Limit down = 2814 × (1 - 0.07) = 2617.02 | Do not trade below 2673.00 (limit down + buffer) |
3: Equity Index Product (ES Futures) | 18,556.00 | 7% up = 19,846.75 / 7% down = 17,265.25 | Stop trading above 19,483.00 or below 17,628.00 |
4: Dow Futures (YM) | 35,000.00 | 5% up = 36,750.00 / 5% down = 33,250.00 | Stop trading above 36,050.00 or below 33,950.00 |
5: Micro Nasdaq (MNQ) | 14,200.00 | 7% up = 15,194.00 / 7% down = 13,206.00 | Stop trading above 14,910.00 or below 13,490.00 |
Why Hyperticks Enforces This Rule
Protecting Traders: Extreme volatility near price limits can lead to large, unexpected losses.
Fair Market Environment: Trading near limits often exploits conditions that do not reflect normal liquidity.
Integrity of the Evaluation Process: By enforcing the buffer, we ensure trader performance reflects skill, not anomalies caused by exchange-imposed restrictions.
All traders are expected to know the specifications and limits of the contracts they trade. Staying aware of these limits is a key part of responsible risk management.
For more information about product-specific limits, visit the CME Group website.
If you have any concerns, please contact us via live chat or send an email to support@hyperticks.com