Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $57.00 (5.58 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$57.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.39
±2.2%
Days to Expiry
4
Calendar days
Total Call OI
303,129
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
305,544
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.01
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$62.58
Published close
Consensus
4.5/10
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
$58.00
8/7/2026, 11:40:17 PM
2026-08-14
$59.00
8/14/2026, 11:44:12 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$57.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-08-28
$60.50
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-09-04
$60.50
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-09-11
$59.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-09-18
$57.50
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-09-25
$62.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-09-30
$48.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-10-02
$61.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-10-16
$59.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-11-20
$60.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-12-18
$57.50
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2026-12-31
$48.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2027-01-15
$52.50
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2027-03-19
$60.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2027-03-31
$60.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2027-06-17
$55.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
2027-06-30
$56.00
8/17/2026, 11:44:59 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $57.00.
XLE pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
30
0
724825350
724825350
35
2000
572067850
572069850
40
5500
419313350
419318850
41
6400
388767250
388773650
42
10700
358222150
358232850
43
17000
327677150
327694150
44
30200
297132150
297162350
45
53900
266588250
266642150
46
80900
236060050
236140950
47
109500
205629250
205738750
48
139200
175716050
175855250
49
182500
147680450
147862950
50
226600
119797050
120023650
51
284100
95656950
95941050
51.5
317850
86272100
86589950
52
351600
76887250
77238850
52.5
407750
69068850
69476600
53
465550
61265400
61730950
53.5
544500
54422800
54967300
54
626800
47732700
48359500
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.