Futures margin is confusingly not the same as equities margin. When you buy or sell a futures contract, it costs nothing other than the commission. Instead, you put up in cash a good faith deposit. which is called its margin requirement. Every day, depending on whether the position moves for or against you, it is marked to market and funds are either deducted or added to your deposit. You get that deposit back, along with any profit or loss, when the contract closes.
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Importantly, a futures contract requires actual cash. This is same for buying or selling a contract. The broker will let you borrow from your equities account via a margin loan. This is different from an options trade which might only use your buying power and not require any cash or loan at all.
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Importantly, a futures contract requires actual cash. This is same for buying or selling a contract. The broker will let you borrow that cash from your equities account via a margin loan. This is different from an options trade which might only use your buying power and not require any cash or loan at all.
The main point is for futures you need to have cash in your account to cover the margin requirement plus any possible losses in the futures contract. Typically people hold 3 to 5 times margin requirement in cash for the contract just to be on the safe side.