OPEX Week Options Data: What to Measure Before Trading
CuteMarkets Team
Research
OPEX Week Options Data: What to Measure Before Trading
Before trading OPEX week, treat the calendar as only the starting point. Measure listed expirations, open interest, volume, spreads, trades, Greeks, implied volatility, and chain-level liquidity for the actual underlying.
OPEX week attracts attention because open interest, gamma exposure, roll activity, and short-dated positioning can concentrate around a small set of dates. The date itself is only the starting point.
Before trading an OPEX idea, the better question is what changed in the option surface and whether the contracts are liquid enough for the strategy you want to run.
Start with the calendar
Monthly OpEx is normally the third Friday. Quarterly OpEx happens in March, June, September, and December. Holidays can move the standard date earlier.
For example, April 2026 monthly OpEx was Friday, April 17, 2026. The next standard monthly equity and ETF options expiration after that is Friday, May 15, 2026. June 2026 standard monthly OpEx moves to Thursday, June 18 because June 19 is a market holiday.
Use the next OpEx date, 2026 monthly OpEx dates, and the expiration calendar for planning.
Then measure the surface
For a data workflow, measure at least five things:
- listed expirations for the exact ticker
- open interest by expiration and strike
- bid/ask spread and displayed size
- trade activity and print size
- Greeks and implied volatility near the target strikes
Open interest alone is not enough. A strike can have visible open interest and still be unattractive if the current quote is wide or stale.
Use API-backed dates
Calendar pages are useful for human planning. API-backed listed expirations are better for code.
curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/tickers/expirations/SPY/" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
After selecting the date, request the chain and sort contracts by the fields that matter for the strategy.
curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/options/chain/SPY/?expiration_date=2026-05-15&limit=100" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
Product link
OPEX-week workflows sit between calendar planning and market-data validation. Start from options expiration data, then add open interest and Greeks, quotes, and trades.
The calendar tells you when to look. The option data tells you whether anything is worth trading.
FAQ
Related questions
Is the OPEX calendar enough for trading decisions?
No. OPEX dates identify important windows, but trading decisions still need underlying-specific listed expirations, open interest, spreads, quote freshness, and current chain context.
Which OPEX week metrics matter most?
Open interest, volume, spread width, premium traded, implied volatility, Greeks, DTE, and changes across strikes are more useful than the calendar date by itself.
Product links
Build the workflow with CuteMarkets
This article is part of the broader CuteMarkets product and research stack. Use the landing pages below to move from the blog into the specific API workflow you want to evaluate.
Learn Options From Zero
Send newcomers to the beginner path for calls, puts, chains, Greeks, IV, and risk.
Options Data API
See the primary product page for real-time and historical options data.
Historical Options Data API
Inspect the historical contracts, quotes, trades, and aggregates workflow.
Options Chain API
Go straight to chain snapshots, expirations, and strike discovery.
Pricing
Review plans before you move from free evaluation into production usage.