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Get Symbol Margin Rates

Request: retrieve margin rates for symbol and order type.

API Information:

  • Low-level API: MT5Account.symbol_info_margin_rate(...) (defined in package/MetaRpcMT5/helpers/mt5_account.py)
  • gRPC service: mt5_term_api.MarketInfo
  • Proto definition: SymbolInfoMarginRate (defined in mt5-term-api-market-info.proto)

RPC

  • Service: mt5_term_api.MarketInfo
  • Method: SymbolInfoMarginRate(SymbolInfoMarginRateRequest) -> SymbolInfoMarginRateReply
  • Low-level client (generated): MarketInfoStub.SymbolInfoMarginRate(request, metadata, timeout)

💬 Just the essentials

  • What it is. Retrieve initial and maintenance margin rates for a specific symbol and order type.
  • Why you need it. Calculate margin requirements before placing orders, understand leverage conditions.
  • When to use. Use before trading to estimate margin needs, especially for different order types (BUY/SELL).

🎯 Purpose

Use it to query margin requirements:

  • Calculate required margin before opening positions
  • Understand margin differences between BUY and SELL orders
  • Estimate leverage impact on margin
  • Validate available margin before trading
  • Compare margin requirements across symbols
  • Plan position sizing based on margin availability

📚 Tutorial

For a detailed line-by-line explanation with examples, see: -> symbol_info_margin_rate - How it works

Method Signature

async def symbol_info_margin_rate(
    self,
    symbol: str,
    order_type: market_info_pb2.ENUM_ORDER_TYPE,
    deadline: Optional[datetime] = None,
    cancellation_event: Optional[asyncio.Event] = None,
) -> market_info_pb2.SymbolInfoMarginRateData

Request message:

message SymbolInfoMarginRateRequest {
  string symbol = 1;
  ENUM_ORDER_TYPE order_type = 2;
}

Reply message:

message SymbolInfoMarginRateReply {
  oneof response {
    SymbolInfoMarginRateData data = 1;
    Error error = 2;
  }
}

message SymbolInfoMarginRateData {
  double maintenance_margin_rate = 1;
  double initial_margin_rate = 2;
}

🔽 Input

Parameter Type Description
symbol str (required) Symbol name
order_type ENUM_ORDER_TYPE (enum) Order type (BUY, SELL, etc.)
deadline datetime (optional) Deadline for the gRPC call (UTC datetime)
cancellation_event asyncio.Event (optional) Event to cancel the operation

⬆️ Output

Field Type Python Type Description
initial_margin_rate double float Initial margin rate
maintenance_margin_rate double float Maintenance margin rate

Return value: The method returns SymbolInfoMarginRateData object with margin rate fields.

Note: In Python code, use the full enum path from the market_info module.

ENUM_ORDER_TYPE

Defined in mt5-term-api-market-info.proto.

Constant Value Description
ORDER_TYPE_BUY 0 Buy market order
ORDER_TYPE_SELL 1 Sell market order
ORDER_TYPE_BUY_LIMIT 2 Buy Limit pending order
ORDER_TYPE_SELL_LIMIT 3 Sell Limit pending order
ORDER_TYPE_BUY_STOP 4 Buy Stop pending order
ORDER_TYPE_SELL_STOP 5 Sell Stop pending order
ORDER_TYPE_BUY_STOP_LIMIT 6 Buy Stop Limit pending order
ORDER_TYPE_SELL_STOP_LIMIT 7 Sell Stop Limit pending order
ORDER_TYPE_CLOSE_BY 8 Close by opposite order

Usage in Python: 

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

# Get margin rates for BUY orders
rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
    symbol="EURUSD",
    order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
)
print(f"Initial margin rate: {rates.initial_margin_rate}")
print(f"Maintenance margin rate: {rates.maintenance_margin_rate}")

🧩 Notes & Tips

  • Automatic reconnection: Built-in protection against transient gRPC errors with automatic reconnection via execute_with_reconnect.
  • Default timeout: If deadline is None, the method will wait indefinitely (or until server timeout).
  • Margin rates meaning:
  • Initial margin rate: The rate used when opening a position (multiplied by contract value)
  • Maintenance margin rate: The rate used for maintaining an open position
  • Rate differences: BUY and SELL orders may have different margin rates for the same symbol.
  • Hedge accounts: On hedge accounts, margin rates are typically the same for BUY and SELL.
  • Netting accounts: On netting accounts, margin calculations may differ based on position direction.
  • Calculation: Required margin = (Contract Size × Volume × Price) × Margin Rate
  • UUID handling: The terminal instance UUID is auto-generated by the server if not provided. For explicit control (e.g., in streaming scenarios), pass id_=uuid4() to constructor.

🔗 Usage Examples

1) Get margin rates for BUY order

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

# Get margin rates for BUY order
rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
    symbol="EURUSD",
    order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
)

print(f"BUY Order Margin Rates:")
print(f"  Initial: {rates.initial_margin_rate}")
print(f"  Maintenance: {rates.maintenance_margin_rate}")

2) Compare BUY vs SELL margin rates

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

# Get BUY margin rates
buy_rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
    symbol="XAUUSD",
    order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
)

# Get SELL margin rates
sell_rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
    symbol="XAUUSD",
    order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_SELL
)

print(f"XAUUSD Margin Rates:")
print(f"  BUY  - Initial: {buy_rates.initial_margin_rate}, Maintenance: {buy_rates.maintenance_margin_rate}")
print(f"  SELL - Initial: {sell_rates.initial_margin_rate}, Maintenance: {sell_rates.maintenance_margin_rate}")

if buy_rates.initial_margin_rate == sell_rates.initial_margin_rate:
    print("  Same margin rates for both directions (hedge account)")
else:
    print("  Different margin rates (check account type)")

3) Calculate required margin before trading

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

async def calculate_required_margin(
    account,
    symbol: str,
    volume: float,
    order_type: int = market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
) -> float:
    """Calculate required margin for opening a position"""

    # Get margin rates
    rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
        symbol=symbol,
        order_type=order_type
    )

    # Get contract size
    contract_size_data = await account.symbol_info_double(
        symbol=symbol,
        property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_TRADE_CONTRACT_SIZE
    )

    # Get current price (ASK for BUY, BID for SELL)
    if order_type in [market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY, market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY_LIMIT, market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY_STOP]:
        price_data = await account.symbol_info_double(symbol=symbol, property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_ASK)
    else:
        price_data = await account.symbol_info_double(symbol=symbol, property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_BID)

    # Calculate margin
    contract_value = contract_size_data.value * volume * price_data.value
    required_margin = contract_value * rates.initial_margin_rate

    return required_margin

# Usage
margin = await calculate_required_margin(
    account=account,
    symbol="EURUSD",
    volume=1.0,
    order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
)

print(f"Required margin for 1.0 lot EURUSD BUY: ${margin:.2f}")

4) Check if sufficient margin available

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2
import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_account_information_pb2 as account_info_pb2

async def can_open_position(
    account,
    symbol: str,
    volume: float,
    order_type: int = market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
) -> bool:
    """Check if account has sufficient margin to open position"""

    # Calculate required margin (from previous example)
    required_margin = await calculate_required_margin(account, symbol, volume, order_type)

    # Get free margin
    free_margin = await account.account_info_double(
        property_id=account_info_pb2.ACCOUNT_MARGIN_FREE
    )

    # Check if sufficient
    if free_margin >= required_margin:
        print(f"[OK] Sufficient margin:")
        print(f"  Required: ${required_margin:.2f}")
        print(f"  Available: ${free_margin:.2f}")
        return True
    else:
        print(f"[ERROR] Insufficient margin:")
        print(f"  Required: ${required_margin:.2f}")
        print(f"  Available: ${free_margin:.2f}")
        print(f"  Deficit: ${required_margin - free_margin:.2f}")
        return False

# Usage
if await can_open_position(account, "EURUSD", 2.0):
    print("Safe to open 2.0 lot position")

5) Get margin rates with timeout

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# Set deadline
deadline = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(seconds=3)

try:
    rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
        symbol="GBPUSD",
        order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY,
        deadline=deadline
    )
    print(f"Margin rates retrieved: {rates.initial_margin_rate}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Timeout or error: {e}")

6) Compare margin requirements across symbols

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

async def compare_symbol_margins(account, symbols: list[str]):
    """Compare margin requirements for multiple symbols"""

    print(f"{'Symbol':<10} {'Initial Rate':<15} {'Maintenance Rate':<20}")
    print("=" * 45)

    for symbol in symbols:
        try:
            rates = await account.symbol_info_margin_rate(
                symbol=symbol,
                order_type=market_info_pb2.ORDER_TYPE_BUY
            )
            print(f"{symbol:<10} {rates.initial_margin_rate:<15.4f} {rates.maintenance_margin_rate:<20.4f}")
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"{symbol:<10} ERROR: {e}")

# Usage
await compare_symbol_margins(account, ["EURUSD", "GBPUSD", "USDJPY", "XAUUSD"])

📚 See also