This page reflects CENX 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 — CENX
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $50.00 (4.34 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$50.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$2.75
±6.0%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
6,447
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,215
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.50
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$45.66
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
2026-06-18
$49.00
6/18/2026, 11:07:11 PM
2026-07-17
$45.00
7/17/2026, 11:08:33 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
2026-09-18
$47.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
2026-10-16
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
2026-11-20
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
2026-12-18
$55.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
2027-01-15
$47.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
2027-03-19
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:16 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $50.00.
CENX pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
30
0
4592000
4592000
35
11000
3111000
3122000
40
29500
1795000
1824500
45
94500
782000
876500
50
508000
129000
637000
55
1344000
500
1344500
60
2906500
0
2906500
65
5166500
0
5166500
70
7591000
0
7591000
75
10198500
0
10198500
80
13320000
0
13320000
85
16498500
0
16498500
90
19683000
0
19683000
95
22874500
0
22874500
100
26070000
0
26070000
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.