This page reflects BTU options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — BTU
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $23.50 (1.68 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$23.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.01
±4.0%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
8,878
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
5,192
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.58
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$25.18
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-07
$21.50
8/7/2026, 11:04:25 PM
2026-08-14
$23.50
8/14/2026, 11:03:44 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$23.50
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-08-28
$23.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-09-04
$23.50
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-09-11
$26.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-09-18
$25.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-09-25
$24.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-10-16
$24.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-11-20
$27.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2026-12-18
$26.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
2027-01-15
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:56 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $23.50.
BTU pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
11
0
5820450
5820450
12
200
5302150
5302350
13
800
4784750
4785550
15
3200
3749950
3753150
16
4800
3232550
3237350
17
6400
2715850
2722250
17.5
7300
2457750
2465050
18
8350
2200400
2208750
18.5
9450
1948950
1958400
19
10550
1709100
1719650
19.5
11650
1477100
1488750
20
12750
1249300
1262050
20.5
13850
1050350
1064200
21
14950
864600
879550
21.5
19100
707650
726750
22
33350
557350
590700
22.5
56600
442050
498650
23
82950
332250
415200
23.5
176750
235100
411850
24
274000
153050
427050
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.