What is MCX Tick Size for Gold and Silver?

On MCX, gold has a tick size of 1 rupee per 10 grams and silver has a tick size of 1 rupee per kilogram. These are the minimum price movements allowed on the exchange, and they directly set the smallest profit or loss you can book on each contract. If you are active in MCX commodity trading in India, understanding the tick sizes for gold and silver is the first step before placing any order.

Tick size might sound like a trivia question. It is not. It decides your break-even cost, your effective spread, and how easily you can scalp small moves. Here is a complete breakdown of the tick sizes, lot sizes, and the real money math behind each contract.

Why MCX tick size matters for gold and silver traders

Tick size is the smallest price movement a security can make in one step. On MCX, gold and hedging-mcx-silver-futures">silver futures must move by at least the tick size between consecutive quotes. If the tick is 1 rupee and the current price is 60,000 rupees per 10g, the next quote can be 60,001 or 59,999 — never 60,000.50.

Why you should care:

• Determines your minimum gain or loss on any trade
• Affects slippage when entering or exiting quickly
• Sets the smallest spread between bid and ask
• Controls scalping viability — small ticks mean tighter profit targets

MCX gold tick size and contract specifications

Gold on MCX has multiple contract sizes, but all share the same tick size per 10g.

For the main gold contract, every one-tick move represents 100 rupees in your account. If gold ticks up 10 times, you gain or lose 1000 rupees per lot.

MCX silver tick size and contract specifications

Silver has a slightly different structure because it is priced per kilogram, not per 10 grams.

A 100-tick move on Silver (main) is 3000 rupees per lot. Silver is more volatile than gold, so these moves happen faster.

How tick size affects your actual trading costs

Imagine you want to scalp 10 ticks on MCX gold mini. Each tick is worth 10 rupees per lot. A 10-tick gain is 100 rupees per lot. After brokerage, taxes, and GST, your net profit might be 50 to 70 rupees per lot.

That is why retail scalpers who try to capture 2 to 3 ticks often end up net negative after costs. Understanding the rupee value per tick saves you from chasing profits that cannot cover the cost of trading.

Quick cost math for gold and silver

1. Average round-trip brokerage: 40 to 60 rupees per lot
2. STT and exchange charges: 20 to 30 rupees per lot
3. Stamp duty and GST: 10 to 20 rupees per lot
4. Total cost per lot per round trip: 70 to 110 rupees

This means gold mini scalpers need at least 8 to 12 ticks to break even. Gold main contract scalpers need 1 to 2 ticks. Silver scalpers need 3 to 5 ticks depending on the contract.

Tick size also affects stop loss placement

Because the minimum move is fixed, your stop loss cannot sit between ticks. A stop loss of 59,999.50 rupees per 10g is invalid — it must be 59,999 or 60,000. Experienced traders respect tick sizes when placing stop orders and profit targets to avoid partial fills.

For liquid contracts like MCX gold and silver, stops placed exactly at tick levels usually fill cleanly. For illiquid micro contracts, slippage of 2 to 3 ticks is common.

Common mistakes traders make with MCX tick size

Even experienced MCX traders trip over tick size mechanics. The ones we see most often include:

• Confusing tick size with lot size — tick is the smallest price step, lot is the quantity per contract
• Placing orders at impossible prices — a half-tick price gets rejected automatically
• Forgetting rupee value per tick differs across contracts — gold mini versus gold main are ten times apart
• Assuming silver ticks equal gold ticks — silver is 1 rupee per kg, gold is 1 rupee per 10 grams
• Setting tight stops inside the spread — you will get stopped out on normal bid-ask bounce

Each of these is avoidable with a minute of planning before you hit send on an order.

How MCX tick sizes compare globally

International exchanges like COMEX use a different tick structure. COMEX gold has a tick of 0.10 US dollars per troy ounce, which works out to about 10 rupees per ounce. This is much finer than MCX but also needs higher margin. MCX sizing is designed for Indian retail participation, balancing ease of access with meaningful contract value.

For official contract specifications and circulars, MCX publishes the complete margin, lot size, and tick size documentation on the regulator's site at sebi.gov.in. Verify the latest values before placing any large trade, as the exchange updates contract specs periodically.

Once you internalise the tick size math, MCX gold and silver trading becomes far more predictable. Every ten ticks is a known amount of money, and every stop or target sits at a defined price level.