SIL (Micro Silver Futures)
The micro-sized silver future — 1,000 troy ounces, one-fifth of the full SI contract, with $1 ticks suited to silver's violent percentage moves.
What is SIL (Micro Silver Futures)?
SIL is CME’s Micro Silver future: 1,000 troy ounces versus the 5,000-ounce full-size SI. Silver is the precious metal with an industrial temper — it routinely doubles gold’s percentage moves — and SIL exists so traders can touch that volatility without SI’s $25-per-tick risk profile.
How SIL (Micro Silver Futures) works
Specs: $0.001/oz tick worth $1 per contract; a one-cent silver move = $10; a ten-cent move = $100. Five SIL equal one SI. Liquidity concentrates in US morning hours alongside the London session overlap; books thin notably overnight. Silver keys off the same macro drivers as gold (real rates, dollar) plus industrial demand.
Worked example
Silver breaks out $0.40 in a session — a routine move for the metal. One SIL contract captures $400 of that; one full SI captures $2,000. On a 50K funded account with a $2,000 daily loss limit, SIL is the version of that trade whose adverse case doesn’t end the day.
SIL (Micro Silver Futures) vs related concepts
Side-by-side comparison of SIL (Micro Silver Futures) against the most commonly confused alternatives.
| Concept | Definition | Category |
|---|---|---|
| SIL (Micro Silver Futures) this term | The micro-sized silver future — 1,000 troy ounces, one-fifth of the full SI contract, with $1 ticks suited to silver's violent percentage moves. | Specific Contracts |
| Micro Futures | Smaller-sized versions of major futures contracts (typically 1/10th the size of mini futures), designed for retail and prop firm traders to manage risk with less capital. | Futures Mechanics |
| Tick Value | The dollar value per minimum price movement on a futures contract — multiplying tick value by ticks moved gives your dollar P&L change per contract. | Futures Mechanics |
Why traders fail SIL (Micro Silver Futures)
Sizing silver like gold. Silver’s percentage volatility is roughly double — an MGC-calibrated position size is oversized in SIL terms. Trading SIL in the dead hours: the micro’s spread widens meaningfully overnight; the liquid windows are where its costs stay honest.
Frequently asked questions about SIL (Micro Silver Futures)
What is the tick value of SIL?
$1 per tick ($0.001 per ounce on 1,000 ounces). A ten-cent move in silver equals $100 per SIL contract.
What is the difference between SIL and SI?
Size: SIL covers 1,000 troy ounces, SI covers 5,000. Five SIL contracts equal one SI, letting traders scale silver exposure in fifths.