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USO

United States Oil FundClose $142.54EOD only

Max Pain

$142.00

Next expiry May 22, 2026

Expected Move

±$5.83

4.1% from close

Price Gap

-0.54

Distance to max pain

IV Rank

Low premium

P/C OI

1.72

Slightly put-heavy

Consensus

8.0/10

Bearish tilt

Published snapshot: May 21, 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

May 21, 2026 close

USO Flow Report

Analysis based on market close May 21, 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 spot 0.4% from MP; +1 VIX 17

Watch next session: USO 2026-05-22 $138 Put; USO 2026-05-22 $133 Put

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$25.4M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 2.32

P/C OI ratio: 1.72

Heavy put premium flow and negative net premium (-$1.5M) signal strong bearish positioning. Put/Call ratio 2.8:1. Near-dated puts dominate despite high vol, suggesting downside protection or aggressive bearish bets. Low gamma supports further downside.

Notable Prints

USO 2026-05-22 $143.00 Call

Vol: 2,403

OI: 155

Vol/OI: 15.5x

IV: 78.3%

Notional: ~$658K

Intent: Bullish speculation

Dual read: Covering shorts

Read-through: Expects near-term jump

USO 2026-05-22 $133.00 Put

Vol: 11,169

OI: 730

Vol/OI: 15.3x

IV: 73.1%

Notional: ~$447K

Intent: Bearish speculation

Dual read: Hedging long oil

Read-through: Anticipates sharp decline

USO 2026-06-26 $130.00 Put

Vol: 1,605

OI: 205

Vol/OI: 7.8x

IV: 66.0%

Notional: ~$1.1M

Intent: Bearish hedge

Dual read: Institutional protection

Read-through: Medium-term bearish view

USO 2026-05-29 $123.00 Put

Vol: 991

OI: 149

Vol/OI: 6.7x

IV: 80.9%

Notional: ~$104K

Intent: Speculative put

Dual read: Lottery ticket

Read-through: High-risk bearish bet

USO 2026-05-27 $150.00 Put

Vol: 1,276

OI: 217

Vol/OI: 5.9x

IV: 76.3%

Notional: ~$1.4M

Intent: Bearish outright

Dual read: Tail risk hedge

Read-through: Expects price below 150

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Light call buying at 142-143, dwarfed by puts

Put additions: Heavy put accumulation at 133, 138, 150, 120 strikes; 138 put 11k vol

GEX/DEX consistency: Negative GEX (-$1.9M) vs positive DEX (+37M) — inconsistent outright but typical near max pain

OI clusters: Large put OI at 138 and 130 strikes, concentrations below spot

Hedging evidence: Put buying likely hedging long exposure; 138 put aggressive downside protection

Max pain context: Spot at max pain; pin action expected near current levels

Signal vs Noise

~Heavy put volume at 138 is real hedging signal

~Call volume at 142 is noise (low OI)

~Put/call volume ratio 2.3 confirms bearish flow

Key Conclusions

🐻Bearish flow dominates with 2.3:1 put/call volume ratio and large put prints

⚠️Positive DEX suggests institutional long exposure hedged via puts

🔒Spot at max pain supports pin action, but negative gamma adds risk

How to Use These Reports

This flow reflects the market close on May 21, 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.

How traders use them

Reports are most useful for narrowing the playbook, surfacing entry and risk context, and deciding which raw data page to inspect next.

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.