This page reflects XLU options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
May 20, 2026 close
Max Pain — XLU
Data as of market close May 20, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-05-22 shows max pain at $45.00 (0.49 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$45.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.43
±1.0%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
7,695
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
9,850
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.28
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$44.51
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-05-22
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-05-08
$46.50
5/8/2026, 11:34:35 PM
2026-05-15
$46.00
5/15/2026, 11:48:37 PM
2026-05-22NextUpdated
$45.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-05-29
$46.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-06-05
$46.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-06-12
$46.50
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-06-18
$47.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-06-26
$44.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-07-17
$44.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-09-18
$45.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2026-12-18
$45.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2027-01-15
$47.50
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2027-03-19
$45.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
2027-04-16
$48.00
5/20/2026, 11:41:28 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-05-22 at max pain $45.00.
XLU pain by strike for 2026-05-22 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
35
0
9020300
9020300
37
200
7050900
7051100
38
500
6066300
6066800
39
1200
5082000
5083200
40
2100
4097700
4099800
40.5
2950
3605750
3608700
41
4150
3113800
3117950
41.5
10500
2622400
2632900
42
16850
2132000
2148850
42.5
23300
1642800
1666100
43
29800
1159350
1189150
43.5
36950
689350
726300
44
47300
407750
455050
44.5
98300
241550
339850
45
225050
101400
326450
45.5
425350
36250
461600
46
665050
4900
669950
46.5
1002400
450
1002850
47
1357650
350
1358000
47.5
1724300
300
1724600
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.