CME raises margins for gold, silver, copper( GC1Z HG1Z SI1Z CME ) (by Myra P. Saefong)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The CME Group (cme) , the parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange, on Friday raised margin requirements for some gold, silver and copper futures contracts. Margins are money investors must put up to be able to trade and hold futures contracts. Initial requirements for gold's benchmark contract rose 21% to $11,475 per contract, from $9,450 and maintenance margins climbed to $8,500 from $7,000 per contract. Initial requirements for silver's benchmark contract rose 16% to $24,975 per contract, from $21,600 and maintenance margins climbed to $18,500 from $16,000 per contract. Initial requirements for copper's benchmark contract rose 18% to $6,750 per contract, from $5,738 and maintenance margins climbed to $5,000 from $4,250 per contract. In electronic trading on Globex, December gold (gc1z) was up 1.2% from the close of the regular session, December silver (six1z) was up 3.6% and December copper (hg1z) added 1.2%. Metals sold off Friday, with gold losing more than $100 an ounce.