This page reflects EC 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 — EC
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $13.00 (4.68 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$13.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.60
±3.4%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
53,876
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
8,023
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.15
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$17.68
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
$14.00
6/18/2026, 11:14:44 PM
2026-07-17
$15.00
7/17/2026, 11:13:36 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$13.00
8/18/2026, 11:11:45 PM
2026-09-18
$16.00
8/18/2026, 11:11:45 PM
2026-11-20
$16.00
8/18/2026, 11:11:45 PM
2027-02-19
$19.00
8/18/2026, 11:11:45 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $13.00.
EC pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
10447200
10447200
2
300
9644900
9645200
3
800
8842600
8843400
4
1300
8040600
8041900
5
2100
7239300
7241400
6
3100
6438500
6441600
7
4400
5639000
5643400
8
5900
4840400
4846300
9
10100
4065500
4075600
10
16300
3324500
3340800
11
47100
2632700
2679800
12
93400
2009200
2102600
13
213300
1436000
1649300
14
934200
932600
1866800
15
1858600
572200
2430800
16
4380400
344100
4724500
17
7301800
203600
7505400
18
10574700
129000
10703700
19
15305800
64500
15370300
20
20150900
0
20150900
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.