This page reflects XLB options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — XLB
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $51.50 (0.28 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$51.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.53
±1.0%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
10,505
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
9,326
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.89
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$51.78
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-07
$50.50
8/7/2026, 11:36:50 PM
2026-08-14
$52.50
8/14/2026, 11:43:53 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$51.50
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-08-28
$52.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-09-04
$52.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-09-11
$50.50
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-09-18
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-09-25
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-10-02
$53.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2026-12-18
$48.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2027-01-15
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2027-03-19
$51.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
2027-06-17
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:00 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $51.50.
XLB pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
30
0
18825450
18825450
35
12500
14162450
14174950
38
20600
11364650
11385250
39
23700
10432050
10455750
40
26800
9499550
9526350
41
29900
8567050
8596950
42
33200
7634550
7667750
43
36600
6702050
6738650
44
41600
5779650
5821250
45
46600
4859350
4905950
46
51900
3947250
3999150
46.5
54650
3492700
3547350
47
59800
3038500
3098300
47.5
65850
2588500
2654350
48
71900
2143300
2215200
48.5
78500
1729200
1807700
49
85100
1315650
1400750
49.5
100400
959450
1059850
50
121350
626950
748300
50.5
166000
422150
588150
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.