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USO

United States Oil FundClose $128.47EOD only

Max Pain

$126.00

Next expiry Apr 15, 2026

Expected Move

±$7.22

5.6% from close

Price Gap

-2.47

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Middle-high premium

P/C OI

1.58

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

6.5/10

Neutral tilt

Published snapshot: Apr 13, 2026 close

End-of-day snapshot

This page reflects USO options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.

Published Snapshot

Apr 13, 2026 close

USO Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 13, 2026

Directional Theta Gang Flow Earnings Consensus

Historical consensus-supported lens with full content, report chain context, and metric rail.

Flow Verdict

Confidence:

9 / 10

base 5; +2 GEX/flow strongly aligned; +1 GEX positive (pinning); +0.5 spot 2.0% from MP; +0.5 VIX 19

Watch next session: $111 call premium flow (is the $6.29M roll/add sustained); Volume into 4/15 ITM puts at $129-$133 and whether dealers short-gamma push toward $126 MP

Flow Summary

Net premium: +$14.8M bullish

P/C volume ratio: 1.06 — slight put-volume tilt intraday (near-neutral)

P/C OI ratio: 1.58 — material put-heavy positioning (structural put protection)

Flow is mixed but leans bullish near-term: dealers show positive GEX (+$28.1M) and net premium is positive +$14.8M driven by concentrated call buying at $111 and call OI clusters at $130/$135. At the same time there is significant put OI (75/80/110 and heavy short-dated put activity into 4/15 strikes $125-$133) which represents both structural hedges and near-term expiration pin activity — overall suggests pinning around $126-$130 with asymmetric protection below.

Notable Prints

USO 2026-04-15 $125 Put

Vol: 3,363

OI: 638

Vol/OI: 5.3x

IV: 75.7%

Notional: ~$672,600

Intent: Short-dated protective/expiration put buying (hedge or directional protection into 4/15)

Dual read: Bought puts (defensive bearish protection) or dealers opening delta-hedged short positions vs buys (market-maker activity).

Read-through: Large short-dated put flow clustered below spot increases downside protection demand into 4/15; supports dealer pinning pressure toward MP near $126 and flags skewed tail-hedging.

USO 2026-04-15 $132 Put (ITM)

Vol: 1,804

OI: 105

Vol/OI: 17.2x

IV: 87.5%

Notional: ~$1,154,560

Intent: Aggressive short-dated directional/hedge — buyers stepping into ITM puts ahead of expiry

Dual read: Protective puts (hedge) or a directional bearish bet expecting a slide into expiry.

Read-through: High vol/OI ratio on ITM puts is a clear short-dated protective/close-to-expiry directional signal; if sustained, it could force dealer gamma hedging that compresses moves toward the MP band.

USO 2026-04-15 $129 Put (ITM)

Vol: 1,439

OI: 119

Vol/OI: 12.1x

IV: 78.0%

Notional: ~$597,285

Intent: Expiration hedging / directional protection into 4/15

Dual read: Bought puts for protection or short sellers layering protection; alternatively part of a conversion/box is less likely given size.

Read-through: Reinforces the short-dated put cluster at and just below spot — increases probability of pinning and dealer-hedge flows near $126-$130.

USO 2026-04-15 $133 Put (ITM)

Vol: 812

OI: 109

Vol/OI: 7.5x

IV: 83.6%

Notional: ~$540,792

Intent: Same-day/expiry protective activity; consolidation of ITM put buying across $129-$133 strikes

Dual read: Protective vs speculative bearish play.

Read-through: Part of a concentrated short-dated put sweep — increases the chance of pinning and forces dealer gamma actions if price approaches these strikes into expiry.

USO 2026-04-15 $136 Call

Vol: 1,615

OI: 175

Vol/OI: 9.2x

IV: 82.6%

Notional: ~$205,205

Intent: Short-dated call accumulation / directional upside or call spreads versus put buys

Dual read: Fresh bullish call buying or dealers selling calls (overwriting); could be paired with put buys as a collar.

Read-through: Offsets some put pressure — suggests market participants are hedging both tails into expiry; supports the 'mixed flow' regime but keeps upside open toward $135-$140.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: $111 (large premium inflow ~$6.29M net), and call OI concentration at $130/$135 (12,654 OI at $130; 15,560 OI at $135). Short-dated call activity also visible at $136-$140.

Put additions: Heavy structural put OI at low strikes ($75, $80, $67, $68) and notable put concentration around $110 (23,984 OI). Short-dated put buying at $125-$133 into 4/15 indicates near-term protection demand.

GEX/DEX consistency: Yes — positive Total GEX +$28.1M with dealer DEX +40.9M shares aligns with pinning behavior; near-term GEX concentrations at $130 (+$6.1M) and $135 (+$4.5M) support spot gravitation to those levels.

OI clusters: Largest OI clusters: puts concentrated at $75 (45,146 OI) and $80 (38,686 OI) forming a structural floor; calls concentrated at $200 (18,912 OI), $135 (15,560 OI), $120 (15,557 OI) — these create localized walls/pins around $120-$135.

Hedging evidence: Yes — evidence of large-scale hedging: structural long-dated puts (put floor $67-$110) and short-dated protective puts into 4/15. Limited signs of widespread collar activity but some paired short-dated calls/puts indicate localized collars.

Max pain context: Max pain near-term is $126 (4/15) with trend of MP falling across expirations; combined with short-dated put activity this increases pin probability at $126-$130 over the next sessions.

Signal vs Noise

~Large long-dated structural put OI at $75/$80/$67 is structural protection (not immediate directional flow).

~Some short-dated flows are likely expiration hedges/rolls into 4/15 rather than new directional commitments — especially high vol/OI ratios on ITM 4/15 puts.

~Very small or deeply OTM trades (e.g., $210 calls) are likely speculative/tail positioning or vol plays, not primary directional signals.

~Dealer gamma hedging and market-maker flows can amplify short-dated moves — prints in the 4/15 chain may reflect MM inventory management rather than fresh directional conviction.

Key Conclusions

📌Pin range forming between $126 (4/15 MP) and $130 (GEX concentration +$6.1M) — dealers are positioned to nudge spot into that band.

🔒Short-dated protective put buying at $125-$133 (4/15) signals elevated near-term downside hedging — watch dealer gamma as expiry approaches.

🔼Net premium +$14.8M and large $111 call premium ($6.29M) bias flow mildly bullish — if call accumulation continues, upside toward $135-$140 becomes more probable.

🛡️Structural put floor at $67-$110 plus big OI at $75/$80 provides a lower tail insurance — heavy put OI is long-term institutional protection, not immediate crash hedges.

⚖️Overall flow is mixed: short-dated puts point to protective activity and pinning, while concentrated call premium (and positive GEX) keeps bias slightly bullish above MP.

Read the Flow analysis for USO for 2026-04-13. Each report is a market-close snapshot with regime read, key levels, and strategy context that translates options positioning into an actionable setup.