It is April 15, and a trader is entered into a short position in two soybean meal futures contracts. The contracts expire on August 15, and call for the delivery of 100 tons of soybean meal each. Further, because this is a futures position, it requires the posting of a $ 3000 initial margin and a $1500 maintenance margin per contract. For simplicity, however, assume that the account is marked to market on a monthly basis. Assume the following represent the contract delivery prices (in dollars per ton) that prevail on each settlement date:

A．April 15 (initiation)

B．173.00

C．May 15

D．179.75

E．June 15

F．189.00

G．July 15

H．182.50

I．August 15 (delivery)

J．174.25