Minimum Price Changes
by National Futures Association (NFA)
Exchanges establish the minimum amount that the price can fluctuate upward or downward. This is known as the "tick." For example, each tick for grain is ¼¢ per bushel. On a 5,000 bushel futures contract, that’s $12.50. On a gold futures contract, the tick is 10¢ per ounce, which on a 100 ounce contract is $10. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the minimum price fluctuation—the tick size—for whatever futures contracts you plan to trade. You’ll need to know how a price change of any given amount will affect the value of the contract.
Reprinted with permission from the National Futures Association. Copyright 2002.