This page reflects NUE options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Oct 2, 2026 close
Max Pain — NUE
Data as of market close Oct 2, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-10-16 shows max pain at $240.00 (0.39 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$240.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$12.75
±5.3%
Days to Expiry
14
Calendar days
Total Call OI
5,529
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
4,869
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.88
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$240.39
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-10-16
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-21
$250.00
8/21/2026, 11:21:48 PM
2026-09-18
$240.00
9/18/2026, 11:25:03 PM
2026-10-16NextUpdated
$240.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2026-11-20
$240.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2026-12-18
$220.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2027-01-15
$170.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2027-03-19
$250.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2027-04-16
$250.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2027-06-17
$195.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
2027-09-17
$185.00
10/2/2026, 11:25:08 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-10-16 at max pain $240.00.
NUE pain by strike for 2026-10-16 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
85
0
65286500
65286500
95
0
60421500
60421500
100
0
57999000
57999000
105
0
55576500
55576500
110
0
53169000
53169000
115
0
50773500
50773500
120
0
48378000
48378000
125
0
45982500
45982500
130
0
43597500
43597500
135
0
41218000
41218000
140
0
38863000
38863000
145
0
36512500
36512500
150
500
34163500
34164000
155
1000
31818000
31819000
160
1500
29475500
29477000
165
4500
27328000
27332500
170
7500
25200000
25207500
175
10500
23107500
23118000
180
13500
21043500
21057000
185
17500
18988500
19006000
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.