This page reflects NG options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 19, 2026 close
Max Pain — NG
Data as of market close Aug 19, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $6.00 (2.46 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$6.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.57
±6.8%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
4,984
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
2,666
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.53
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$8.46
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
$6.00
6/18/2026, 11:24:28 PM
2026-07-17
$6.00
7/17/2026, 11:24:34 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$6.00
8/19/2026, 11:28:15 PM
2026-09-18
$7.00
8/19/2026, 11:28:15 PM
2026-12-18
$7.00
8/19/2026, 11:28:15 PM
2027-03-19
$6.00
8/19/2026, 11:28:15 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $6.00.
NG pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
1236900
1236900
2
200
970300
970500
3
400
704600
705000
4
600
440000
440600
5
4400
227500
231900
6
25700
56900
82600
7
102800
17500
120300
8
297200
2400
299600
9
621000
700
621700
10
1064500
200
1064700
11
1552200
0
1552200
12
2040900
0
2040900
13
2535900
0
2535900
14
3030900
0
3030900
15
3527100
0
3527100
16
4024300
0
4024300
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.