This page reflects NG 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 — NG
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-06-18 shows max pain at $6.00 (1.97 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
±$1.27
±16.0%
Days to Expiry
29
Calendar days
Total Call OI
22,150
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
4,724
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.21
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$7.97
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-06-18
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-04-17
$9.00
4/17/2026, 11:26:38 PM
2026-05-15
$9.00
5/15/2026, 11:24:55 PM
2026-06-18NextUpdated
$6.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:16 PM
2026-07-17
$10.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:16 PM
2026-09-18
$7.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:16 PM
2026-12-18
$7.00
5/20/2026, 11:25:16 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-06-18 at max pain $6.00.
NG pain by strike for 2026-06-18 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
3865200
3865200
2
200
3392800
3393000
3
400
2920700
2921100
4
1000
2448600
2449600
5
5800
1976600
1982400
6
22000
1505800
1527800
7
562900
1038500
1601400
8
1130600
654600
1785200
9
2157200
315000
2472200
10
3263100
89900
3353000
11
4647800
21300
4669100
12
6187200
7000
6194200
13
8031500
3700
8035200
14
9982200
1900
9984100
15
11989900
1300
11991200
16
14138800
800
14139600
17
16300100
400
16300500
18
18463400
200
18463600
19
20658000
100
20658100
20
22852800
0
22852800
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.