thetaOwl

USO

United States Oil FundClose $137.27EOD only
Max Pain
$137.00
Next expiry Jun 3, 2026
Expected Move
±$3.19
2.3% from close
Price Gap
-0.27
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
0
Low premium
P/C OI
1.77
Slightly put-heavy
Consensus
7.0/10
Bearish tilt
Published snapshot: Jun 2, 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
Jun 2, 2026 close
USO Flow Report
Analysis based on market close April 17, 2026

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

You are viewing an older report from April 17, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 26, 2026.

View latest report

Flow Verdict

BiasMixed
Confirmation: Large same-day call prints and improved equity breadth
Invalidation: Sustained negative GEX, concentrated put OI below spot and spot reversion to model price
Confidence:
4 / 10
base 5; -1 GEX/flow contradict; -1 spot 5.5% from MP; +1 VIX 17

Watch next session: monitor follow-through in large call strikes; watch put OI and vol lift near MP; track price movement toward/away from model price

Flow Summary

Net premium: +$86.0M bullish

P/C volume ratio: 1.31

P/C OI ratio: 1.61

Spot sits above model with net negative GEX and heavy intraday call activity. Equity breadth improved intraday (advancers>decliners). Put open interest is concentrated below spot, creating downside pin risk. Flow ambiguous—short‑gamma downside risk versus directional bullish prints; monitor whether calls persist or puts/price reclaim model.

Notable Prints

#1
USO 2026-04-17 $114.00 Call
Vol: 7,048
OI: 188
Vol/OI: 37.5x
IV: 39.6%
Notional: ~$1.4M
Intent: short-dated bullish buy
Dual read: roll/hedge vs directional

Read-through: short-gamma stress

#2
USO 2026-04-17 $116.00 Call
Vol: 10,223
OI: 439
Vol/OI: 23.3x
IV: 17.8%
Notional: ~$399K
Intent: speculative call buy
Dual read: income trade vs buy

Read-through: upside chase

#3
USO 2026-04-24 $128.00 Call
Vol: 5,092
OI: 294
Vol/OI: 17.3x
IV: 95.3%
Notional: ~$1.2M
Intent: tail-risk upside buy
Dual read: lottery vs hedge

Read-through: large OTM optimism

#4
USO 2026-04-24 $115.00 Call
Vol: 2,668
OI: 154
Vol/OI: 17.3x
IV: 81.6%
Notional: ~$1.6M
Intent: buy for early-week upside
Dual read: vol play vs hedge

Read-through: demand into weeklies

#5
USO 2026-04-24 $123.00 Call
Vol: 1,998
OI: 125
Vol/OI: 16.0x
IV: 87.0%
Notional: ~$653K
Intent: speculative upside buy
Dual read: reposition vs hedge

Read-through: bullish skew

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Large near-term call flows at 114–128–125 strikes (Apr17–Apr24–Apr22), plus a July tail at 265.

Put additions: Heavy same-day puts at 112–114 with high volume/oi; overall put OI skewed ~13.8% below spot.

GEX/DEX consistency: GEX negative (~-$55.7M) while DEX net buys +40.6M shares — mixed signals and gamma/flow mismatch.

OI clusters: OI clusters: puts concentrated ~27k OI ~13.8% below spot; call clusters around 114–125.

Hedging evidence: Possible protective puts and short-dated collar activity noted; high call vol/oi could reflect selling or structured buys — treat as a hypothesis and seek timestamps and trade-side info before attributing cause.

Max pain context: Spot ~5.5% above MP; short-dated expiries may exert pinning pressure toward lower strikes, but conflicting flow makes outcome uncertain.

Signal vs Noise

~Signal: heavy same-day put prints at 112–114 (likely hedging).
~Signal: concentrated call blocks around 114–125 with elevated vol/oi (meaningful market structure).
~Noise: large longer-dated IVy calls with low OI relative volume likely directional single-party bets.

Key Conclusions

⚠️Net institutional stance leans cautious but uncertain due to conflicting GEX/DEX and sizable call clusters; monitor for resolution.
📌Short-dated expiries (112–125) are highest impact — watch for pinning and fast GEX shifts.
How to Use These Reports
This flow reflects the market close on April 17, 2026.
What the reports do

Each report translates the same market-close options snapshot into a specific lens such as directional bias, premium-selling posture, flow quality, or earnings setup.

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What to remember

These are interpretation layers, not execution guarantees. Validate the setup against chain liquidity, expected move, and exposure before sizing risk.

If the report conviction and the raw data disagree, slow down and resolve the mismatch before sizing risk.