This page reflects CME options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
Max Pain — CME
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-05-22 shows max pain at $295.00 (4.88 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$295.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$4.90
±1.7%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
941
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
795
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.84
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$290.12
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-05-22
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-05-08
$287.50
5/8/2026, 11:04:07 PM
2026-05-15
$290.00
5/15/2026, 11:03:55 PM
2026-05-22NextUpdated
$295.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-05-29
$295.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-06-05
$290.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-06-12
$285.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-06-18
$290.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-06-26
$285.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-07-17
$290.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-08-21
$300.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-09-18
$300.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-12-18
$290.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2027-01-15
$280.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2027-03-19
$320.00
5/20/2026, 11:10:51 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-05-22 at max pain $295.00.
CME pain by strike for 2026-05-22 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
200
0
6735750
6735750
245
4500
3158250
3162750
250
5000
2761250
2766250
255
5500
2365250
2370750
265
6500
1574250
1580750
267.5
10250
1380250
1390500
270
14000
1187500
1201500
272.5
17750
1013750
1031500
275
21500
841250
862750
277.5
25500
680250
705750
280
29500
521500
551000
282.5
35500
393500
429000
285
43750
322000
365750
287.5
55000
257000
312000
290
66750
194500
261250
292.5
86250
145750
232000
295
109250
99500
208750
297.5
157750
57750
215500
300
208500
17500
226000
302.5
271750
3250
275000
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.