Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET

IAU max pain

Spot (delayed)$73.79
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$75
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2027-04-16 expiration, over 34 strikes carrying 3,287 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+1.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$9.1
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2027-04-16 expiration = 9.10 USD, 12.3% of 73.79 spot.
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±12.3% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.32
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
How799 put contracts / 2,488 call contracts = 0.32 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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799 puts / 2K calls
Call wall$89
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
How89.00 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest call OI
Put wall$72
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
How72.00 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3023.0%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$111K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 2:09 PM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2027-04-16 expiration: (call gamma × call OI minus put gamma × put OI) × 100 × spot² × 1%, summed. Calls count as positive and puts as negative, a convention about who holds the other side, not a measurement.
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per 1% move · flip ≈ $65

Event risk before this expiration: Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 · Jobs report Fri, Dec 4 · FOMC decision Wed, Dec 9 · CPI release Thu, Dec 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 6$74+0.3%3d
Fri, Nov 13$75+1.6%10d
Fri, Nov 20$78+5.7%17d
Fri, Nov 27$75+1.6%24d
Fri, Dec 4$77+4.4%31d
Fri, Dec 11$76.5+3.7%38d
Fri, Dec 18$77+4.4%45d
Fri, Jan 15one strike decides73d
Fri, Apr 16$75+1.6%164d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot7560738699112125$8M$0
■ put-side pain■ call-side painTotal payout option writers would owe at each settle price (both sides, all open interest, ×100 shares) — low settles hurt put writers, high settles hurt call writers. The minimum — 75 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot756074808692110564564
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)IAU open contracts per strike for Fri, Apr 16.

Open-interest change: building vs unwinding

Needs two observed snapshot days for this expiration; the comparison appears automatically once the next weekday snapshot lands. We diff real observations only; nothing is estimated.

Volume by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot7560758710033
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot6073869911212542%20%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 22.6% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 656074808692110+$64K−$64K
Net dealer gamma per strike, in dollars per 1% move, assuming the standard convention (dealers long calls, short puts) — an assumption, not an observation. Above the amber flip level hedging tends to dampen moves; below it, to amplify them.

Greeks by strike · Fri, Apr 16

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.92-0.00600.01180.08-0.01-0.09
0.84-0.01650.02000.12-0.01-0.17
0.72-0.01700.02980.17-0.01-0.30
0.69-0.01710.03160.18-0.01-0.33
0.66-0.01720.03310.18-0.01-0.37
0.62-0.01730.03450.19-0.01-0.40
0.59-0.01740.03550.19-0.01-0.44
0.55-0.01750.03620.20-0.01-0.48
0.52-0.01760.03660.20-0.01-0.52
0.48-0.01770.03660.20-0.01-0.56
0.45-0.01780.03630.20-0.01-0.60
0.41-0.01790.03560.19-0.01-0.64
0.38-0.01800.03470.19-0.01-0.68
0.35-0.01810.03360.18-0.01-0.72

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 14 strikes around the money — all 34 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot5072.576.580.584.5906K0
Call open interest per strike, stacked across the checked expirations — each color is one expiry. Strikes are pruned to the liquid center of each chain.

All expirations combined — total open interest

spot356877869511625K25K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 169K call contracts, 30K put contracts open.

Reading this honestly

Max pain is arithmetic, not prophecy: the settle price that would minimize what option writers pay out at expiration, computed from open interest alone. Prices sometimes gravitate toward heavy strikes into expiry — dealer hedging is a real flow — but the evidence that max pain predicts settlement better than chance is mixed, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Use it as a map of where positioning is stacked, next to the fundamentals and the earnings calendar, not as a target.

Max pain, walls and gamma print only when an expiration holds at least 100 open contracts across 5 strikes, and max pain also needs to stay within 5% of spot when its single heaviest strike is removed. Below that the expiration reads as thin rather than printing a level one trade could move.

Data: Cboe delayed public feed (~15 minutes), refreshed here about every 15 minutes. Open interest itself updates once daily, before the open. Educational information, not investment advice.

Keep going: IAU workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk