This page reflects NUE 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 — NUE
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-06-18 shows max pain at $185.00 (40.67 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$185.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$16.80
±7.4%
Days to Expiry
29
Calendar days
Total Call OI
10,053
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
9,396
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.93
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$225.67
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
$165.00
4/17/2026, 11:26:58 PM
2026-05-15
$195.00
5/15/2026, 11:27:02 PM
2026-06-18NextUpdated
$185.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
2026-07-17
$190.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
2026-09-18
$175.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
2026-10-16
$200.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
2026-12-18
$210.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
2027-01-15
$150.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
2027-03-19
$200.00
5/20/2026, 11:22:11 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-06-18 at max pain $185.00.
NUE pain by strike for 2026-06-18 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
50
0
108603000
108603000
55
0
104122500
104122500
60
500
99647000
99647500
65
2000
95185500
95187500
70
3500
90724000
90727500
75
6000
86277000
86283000
80
29000
81830000
81859000
85
52000
77474000
77526000
90
75000
73118000
73193000
95
98500
68762000
68860500
100
127000
64455000
64582000
105
155500
60241000
60396500
110
186500
56072000
56258500
115
227000
51903000
52130000
120
285500
47854500
48140000
125
357000
43854500
44211500
130
428500
39878000
40306500
135
519500
35951000
36470500
140
633500
32050500
32684000
145
776500
28211500
28988000
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.