{"slug":"how-to-read-an-option-chain","qid":"iv_smile","label":"Implied volatility by strike: SPY options expiring August 21 2026, as of July 15 2026","post_title":"How to Read an Option Chain, Column by Column","post_url":"/blog/how-to-read-an-option-chain#q-iv_smile","columns":["strike","implied_vol_pct","strike_vs_spot_pct"],"rows":[{"strike":"640","implied_vol_pct":23.6,"strike_vs_spot_pct":-15.2},{"strike":"660","implied_vol_pct":25.8,"strike_vs_spot_pct":-12.5},{"strike":"680","implied_vol_pct":22.5,"strike_vs_spot_pct":-9.9},{"strike":"700","implied_vol_pct":19.3,"strike_vs_spot_pct":-7.2},{"strike":"720","implied_vol_pct":17.4,"strike_vs_spot_pct":-4.6},{"strike":"740","implied_vol_pct":15,"strike_vs_spot_pct":-1.9},{"strike":"760","implied_vol_pct":12.6,"strike_vs_spot_pct":0.7},{"strike":"780","implied_vol_pct":12.5,"strike_vs_spot_pct":3.4},{"strike":"800","implied_vol_pct":10.2,"strike_vs_spot_pct":6},{"strike":"820","implied_vol_pct":11.2,"strike_vs_spot_pct":8.7},{"strike":"840","implied_vol_pct":12.8,"strike_vs_spot_pct":11.3}],"shape":"ranking","sql":"SELECT toString(toUInt32(strike_price)) AS strike,\n       round(100 * avg(implied_volatility), 1) AS implied_vol_pct,\n       round(100 * (strike_price / any(underlying_close) - 1), 1) AS strike_vs_spot_pct\nFROM global_markets.options_greeks\nWHERE underlying_symbol = 'SPY'\n  AND date = toDate('2026-07-15')\n  AND expiration_date = toDate('2026-08-21')\n  AND strike_price BETWEEN 640 AND 840\n  AND toUInt32(strike_price) % 20 = 0\n  AND iv_converged\n  AND implied_volatility BETWEEN 0.02 AND 3\nGROUP BY strike_price\nORDER BY strike_price","computed_at":"2026-07-31T08:38:45.478054+00:00","elapsed":0.003826069}