What Are CME Price Limits?
A price limit is the maximum price range a futures contract can move in a single trading session. When a limit is hit, the exchange may halt trading, expand limits, or stop the session entirely, depending on the product.
Price limits are calculated from the previous day’s settlement price. They update at 4:05 PM CT after each session and vary by product, contract month, and time of day.
Overnight limits differ from RTH limits.
➡ Check current CME Price Limits here — they change regularly.
📣 Update: Equity products ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, RTY, M2K, YM, and MYM overnight price limits have expanded from 5% to 7%.
How to Stay Outside the 2% Price Limit
☝️ Method 1: Watch % Net Change
Add the % Net Change column to the platform’s Quote Board. Stop trading when % Net Change approaches the limit minus 2%.
👉 Example: 5% limit → stop trading at 3% net change. 7% limit → stop trading at 5% net change.
✌️ Method 2: Calculate from Settlement Price
Formulas:
Stop trading above: Settlement × (1 + Price Limit% − 2%)
Stop trading below: Settlement × (1 − Price Limit% + 2%)
Example using ES settlement of 2,814.00 with a 5% limit:
Stop above: 2,814 × 1.03 = 2,898
Stop below: 2,814 × 0.97 = 2,730
With a 7% downside-only limit:
Stop below: 2,814 × 0.95 = 2,673
Why Does Topstep Enforce This?
To protect the firm and its Traders. When a product is within 2% of a price limit, market conditions are extreme and execution is unreliable. Every Trader should know the contract specs and limits for every product they trade.
📑 For product details, visit CME Group and select your contract.
📺 Check out the video below to learn more about trading around price limits.