{"slug":"what-is-the-vix","qid":"iv_monthly","label":"SPY at-the-money implied volatility near 30 days to expiry, monthly averages (Jul 2025 to Jul 2026)","post_title":"What Is the VIX? What It Really Measures","post_url":"/blog/what-is-the-vix#q-iv_monthly","columns":["month","month_label","avg_iv_pct","lowest_print_pct","highest_print_pct","contracts"],"rows":[{"month":"2025-07-01","month_label":"July 2025","avg_iv_pct":13.5,"lowest_print_pct":8.7,"highest_print_pct":17.9,"contracts":508},{"month":"2025-08-01","month_label":"August 2025","avg_iv_pct":12.5,"lowest_print_pct":8.8,"highest_print_pct":18.2,"contracts":561},{"month":"2025-09-01","month_label":"September 2025","avg_iv_pct":12.6,"lowest_print_pct":8.8,"highest_print_pct":18.8,"contracts":587},{"month":"2025-10-01","month_label":"October 2025","avg_iv_pct":14.7,"lowest_print_pct":11.5,"highest_print_pct":22,"contracts":733},{"month":"2025-11-01","month_label":"November 2025","avg_iv_pct":16.4,"lowest_print_pct":11.1,"highest_print_pct":26.7,"contracts":695},{"month":"2025-12-01","month_label":"December 2025","avg_iv_pct":12.8,"lowest_print_pct":9.9,"highest_print_pct":19.2,"contracts":660},{"month":"2026-01-01","month_label":"January 2026","avg_iv_pct":13.3,"lowest_print_pct":10.7,"highest_print_pct":20,"contracts":573},{"month":"2026-02-01","month_label":"February 2026","avg_iv_pct":15.8,"lowest_print_pct":12.1,"highest_print_pct":24.9,"contracts":742},{"month":"2026-03-01","month_label":"March 2026","avg_iv_pct":21.2,"lowest_print_pct":13.6,"highest_print_pct":33.3,"contracts":1136},{"month":"2026-04-01","month_label":"April 2026","avg_iv_pct":17.3,"lowest_print_pct":8.8,"highest_print_pct":42.2,"contracts":801},{"month":"2026-05-01","month_label":"May 2026","avg_iv_pct":14.6,"lowest_print_pct":11.8,"highest_print_pct":20,"contracts":740},{"month":"2026-06-01","month_label":"June 2026","avg_iv_pct":15.2,"lowest_print_pct":10.5,"highest_print_pct":28.4,"contracts":814},{"month":"2026-07-01","month_label":"July 2026","avg_iv_pct":14.2,"lowest_print_pct":10.7,"highest_print_pct":19.9,"contracts":804}],"shape":"series","sql":"SELECT toStartOfMonth(date) AS month,\n       formatDateTimeInJodaSyntax(toStartOfMonth(date), 'MMMM yyyy') AS month_label,\n       round(avg(implied_volatility) * 100, 1) AS avg_iv_pct,\n       round(min(implied_volatility) * 100, 1) AS lowest_print_pct,\n       round(max(implied_volatility) * 100, 1) AS highest_print_pct,\n       count() AS contracts\nFROM global_markets.options_greeks\nWHERE underlying_symbol = 'SPY'\n  AND date >= toDate('2025-07-01')\n  AND date < toDate('2026-08-01')\n  AND abs(delta) BETWEEN 0.45 AND 0.55\n  AND days_to_expiry BETWEEN 23 AND 37\n  AND iv_converged\n  AND implied_volatility BETWEEN 0.02 AND 3\nGROUP BY month\nORDER BY month","computed_at":"2026-08-14T14:35:09.707590+00:00","elapsed":0.002466657}