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USO

United States Oil FundClose $123.85EOD only

Max Pain

$129.00

Next expiry Apr 15, 2026

Expected Move

±$4.51

3.6% from close

Price Gap

+5.15

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

1.57

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

5.0/10

Bearish tilt

Published snapshot: Apr 14, 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 14, 2026 close

USO Flow Report

Analysis based on market close April 14, 2026

Directional Theta Gang Flow Earnings Consensus

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

Flow Verdict

Confidence:

6 / 10

base 5.0; +1 put premium net (-$18.1M) & P/C OI 1.57; +0.5 MP falling & pinning; -0.5 positive GEX pinning (creates short-term support); -0.0 market rally (SPY/QQQ up) mixed

Watch next session: Intraday put volume and prints at $120 and $125 (continuation of heavy put premium); Price reaction to heavy GEX concentration at $130 and any dealer pinning flows near $129 MP (2026-04-15)

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$18.1M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 1.24 — put-dominant today (elevated but not extreme)

P/C OI ratio: 1.57 — structural put-heavy positioning vs volume (OI concentrated on puts)

Large net negative premium shows institutional put buying or put-heavy selling into expiries, concentrated at the $120–$125 area. Despite positive GEX (+$8.4M) which creates dealer pinning bias around higher strikes, the flow is dominated by puts and a falling max-pain, pointing to tactical downside positioning with dealer short-delta/hedge activity keeping price contained.

Notable Prints

USO 2026-04-22 $115.00 Put

Vol: 4,053

OI: 300

Vol/OI: 13.5x

IV: 73.2%

Notional: ~$902,000

Intent: Directional put accumulation / protective buying into the 4/22 expiry

Dual read: Aggressive bearish purchase (clients buying protection/spec) or dealers selling to facilitate other client flow (could be inventory adjustment)

Read-through: Large short-dated put demand 7% below spot is a clear tactical bearish signal into the 4/22 expiry — consistent with net negative premium at nearby strikes.

USO 2026-04-22 $120.00 Put

Vol: 4,004

OI: 853

Vol/OI: 4.7x

IV: 79.0%

Notional: ~$1,501,500

Intent: Directional/hedge put buying concentrated at a near-spot strike

Dual read: Bought puts (bearish) or part of a structured trade where sellers are creating calls elsewhere; but size and concentration suggest client-driven protection/spec.

Read-through: High-volume near-spot put activity is the largest immediate premium driver and anchors bearish flow — dealers will hedge by buying underlying, but net premium negative implies long-client put exposure.

USO 2026-04-22 $127.00 Call

Vol: 1,235

OI: 146

Vol/OI: 8.5x

IV: 80.9%

Notional: ~$611,325

Intent: Bought calls (spec) or short-dated call buying as a hedge against a sharp rebound

Dual read: Client bullish contrarian purchase or dealers selling calls to finance larger put purchases (skew financing)

Read-through: Smaller but concentrated call flow at $127 (3% above spot) likely reflects two-way positioning around the upcoming expiries — but the magnitude is overshadowed by put premium.

USO 2026-06-18 $106.00 Put

Vol: 1,534

OI: 202

Vol/OI: 7.6x

IV: 54.2%

Notional: ~$590,590

Intent: Long-dated protective puts / tail insurance

Dual read: Portfolio protection or outright bearish speculative positioning over months

Read-through: Notable long-dated put demand at $106 suggests institutions are buying multi-month downside insurance below the gamma flip (~$100) — supports structural cautious stance beyond the immediate expiries.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Some call OI at $130 (11,825 OI) and $135 (16,566 OI) — dealer GEX shows pinning pressure there, but premium flow favors puts; modest call buying at higher strikes ($135, $140) likely speculative or finance trades.

Put additions: Concentrated put accumulation at $120 (vol=4,004), $115 (vol=4,053), and large structural OI at deep puts ($75/$80/$67) with material OI: $75 PUT OI=45,111; $80 PUT OI=38,364; $67 PUT OI=29,368 — near-term activity centers around $115-$125.

GEX/DEX consistency: Mixed but broadly consistent: Total GEX is +$8.4M (pinning), which can mute moves upward even as clients add puts — dealers are long gamma near key strikes and will sell into rallies and buy into dips, creating a pin around $130–$135 while net put premium pushes bias lower.

OI clusters: $75 put (45,111 OI) and $80 put (38,364 OI) are large structural floors; near-term OI cluster at $120 call (15,312 OI) and $130 call (11,825 OI) create dealer gamma concentrations — immediate put-OI cluster at $110 (18,617 OI) and $120 (9,871 vol activity) creates support/bracket between $110–$125.

Hedging evidence: Clear evidence of protective hedging: heavy short-dated put buying at $115–$125 and long-dated puts ($106, $116 expiries) indicate institutions are hedging downside; limited systematic collar patterns visible, but net put premium and long-dated put prints point to tail insurance.

Max pain context: Max pain is trending down (next expiries $129 → $110 → $125), and current spot ($123.85) sits below the nearest MP ($129 on 2026-04-15) with heavy put premium concentrated near other upcoming MPs — dealers may pin price between $120–$130 into expiries.

Signal vs Noise

~Multiple large volumes into the 4/15–4/22 window: a portion is expirations/rolls — expect some activity to be expiration-driven rather than new directional risk.

~Big structural OI at $75/$80/$67 are long-term hedges or prior positions, not immediate bearish bets vs spot; treat them as a put floor rather than fresh selling pressure.

~High GEX concentrations at $130/$135 reflect dealer gamma positioning (pinning) — flows near these strikes can be market maker rebalancing rather than fresh directional client bets.

~Some high vol/low OI prints (e.g., concentrated single-day spikes) may be legging into spreads or financing trades; interpret in the context of net premium (which is decisively negative).

Key Conclusions

🐻Net premium is strongly negative (-$18.1M) with P/C volume 1.24 and P/C OI 1.57 — flow bias is bearish into near-term expiries.

📌Dealers are creating a pinning effect: GEX +$8.4M concentrated at $130 and $135, which can cap upside and keep price inside the $119.34–$128.36 2-day EM.

🛡️Significant short-dated put buying at $115–$120 and long-dated puts ($106, $116 expiries) points to institutional downside hedging/tail insurance rather than small retail bets.

👀Watch $120 and $125 put flow and prints next session — continuation would confirm downside gamma pressure; watch dealer hedging activity around $129 MP for pin behavior.

⚖️Flow is mixed: bearish client positioning vs dealer pinning. That combination often produces chop around the gamma concentrations until an expiration removes the short-term hedges.

Read the Flow analysis for USO for 2026-04-14. Each report is a market-close snapshot with regime read, key levels, and strategy context that translates options positioning into an actionable setup.