This page reflects XLU 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 — XLU
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $44.00 (0.02 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$44.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.60
±1.4%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
70,093
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
30,535
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.44
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$44.02
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
$44.00
8/7/2026, 11:40:10 PM
2026-08-14
$43.00
8/14/2026, 11:43:55 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$44.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-08-28
$44.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-09-04
$44.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-09-11
$44.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-09-18
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-09-25
$43.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-10-02
$46.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2026-12-18
$44.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2027-01-15
$47.50
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2027-03-19
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2027-04-16
$46.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
2027-06-17
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:44:41 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $44.00.
XLU pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
25
0
56649450
56649450
30
500
41382450
41382950
35
11000
26115450
26126450
36
14900
23062150
23077050
37
19600
20008950
20028550
38
25000
16955750
16980750
39
32200
13902950
13935150
40
40500
10850850
10891350
40.5
49050
9330950
9380000
41
57650
7812350
7870000
41.5
66300
6298350
6364650
42
74950
4813500
4888450
42.5
85700
3501250
3586950
43
96950
2461400
2558350
43.5
131700
1623550
1755250
44
266900
888850
1155750
44.5
1255500
457750
1713250
45
2464250
50750
2515000
45.5
3816850
22550
3839400
46
5247850
5400
5253250
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.