This page reflects EME 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 — EME
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $820.00 (4.53 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$820.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$26.05
±3.2%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
629
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
687
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.09
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$824.53
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
$850.00
6/18/2026, 11:11:52 PM
2026-07-17
$770.00
7/17/2026, 11:12:49 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$820.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:20 PM
2026-09-18
$760.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:20 PM
2026-10-16
$780.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:20 PM
2026-12-18
$600.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:20 PM
2027-01-15
$790.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:20 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $820.00.
EME pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
520
0
13524000
13524000
550
0
11466000
11466000
560
0
10781000
10781000
570
0
10127000
10127000
580
0
9489000
9489000
590
0
8871000
8871000
600
0
8255000
8255000
610
2000
7657000
7659000
620
4000
7072000
7076000
630
6000
6515000
6521000
640
8000
6025000
6033000
650
10000
5549000
5559000
660
12000
5083000
5095000
670
15000
4644000
4659000
680
19000
4209000
4228000
690
26000
3831000
3857000
700
79000
3467000
3546000
710
139000
3169000
3308000
720
203000
2875000
3078000
730
269000
2593000
2862000
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.