This page reflects CME 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 — CME
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $250.00 (21.54 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$250.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$5.03
±1.9%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
7,742
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
7,388
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.95
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$271.54
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
$255.00
8/7/2026, 11:07:57 PM
2026-08-14
$265.00
8/14/2026, 11:07:25 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$250.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-08-28
$260.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-09-04
$260.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-09-11
$265.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-09-18
$260.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-09-25
$260.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-10-16
$260.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-11-20
$260.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2026-12-18
$250.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2027-01-15
$250.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2027-03-19
$280.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
2027-06-17
$250.00
8/18/2026, 11:08:26 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $250.00.
CME pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
145
0
67293750
67293750
150
0
63601250
63601250
155
500
59908750
59909250
175
4500
45138750
45143250
180
6000
41451250
41457250
185
7500
37764750
37772250
190
9000
34080750
34089750
195
10500
30412250
30422750
200
12000
26748250
26760250
210
37000
19839250
19876250
215
50000
17020750
17070750
220
63000
14206250
14269250
222.5
88250
12999750
13088000
225
113500
11795750
11909250
227.5
138750
10592250
10731000
230
164000
9389250
9553250
232.5
244250
8378500
8622750
235
324500
7384500
7709000
237.5
404750
6396750
6801500
240
490500
5470250
5960750
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.