MPC Pip Value Calculator – Marathon Petroleum

The formula is straightforward: Pip Value = Pip Size × Contract Size. For Marathon Petroleum, that means $0.01 × 1 = $1.00 per pip, per contract. Pip size (0.01) is the smallest price move MPC can make — one cent. Contract size (1) means each CFD contract represents one share. So a $1.00 price move on MPC equals 100 pips, generating $100 in profit or loss per contract. Pulsar Terminal's built-in pip value calculator auto-fills these instrument parameters — contract size, pip size, and pip value — so you never need to look them up manually. The math stays fixed regardless of MPC's current share price, which simplifies position sizing considerably compared to forex pairs where pip value shifts with exchange rates.

MPC closed above $170 per share in early 2024 — a useful reference price for this example. Suppose you buy 10 contracts at $170.00 and MPC rises to $172.50. That's a $2.50 move, equal to 250 pips. Your profit: 250 pips × $1.00 × 10 contracts = $2,500. Now factor in the typical spread of 0.5 pips ($0.005). On entry, you immediately absorb $0.005 × 10 contracts = $0.05 in spread cost — negligible on a 250-pip move, but meaningful on a 5-pip scalp. Running the numbers before entry, not after, is what separates disciplined execution from reactive trading.

A fixed $1.00 pip value makes MPC unusually clean for position sizing. If your maximum risk per trade is $500, you can work backward instantly: $500 ÷ $1.00 pip value = 500 pips of stop-loss room per contract, or a 50-pip stop on 10 contracts. Most traders set stops in dollar terms first, then forget to convert — and end up with positions twice their intended size. With MPC, the 1:1 pip-to-dollar relationship eliminates that conversion step entirely. Set a 30-pip stop ($0.30 price move) on 5 contracts and your maximum loss is exactly $150. No rounding, no approximation. That precision matters most during volatile earnings periods, when MPC can move 200+ pips in a single session.