Skip to content
Markets
SPY769.05▲ +0.34%QQQ717.63▼ -0.10%DIA524.36▲ +1.05%GLD377.65▼ -0.54%TLT80.13▲ +0.84%BABA108.61▲ +0.04%NIO3.43▲ +1.18%PDD81.63▲ +0.29%Realtime derived data
Octans ResearchOCTANS RESEARCHWaitlist

ARCHIVED EDITION · superseded 2026-10-15. This is a preserved past edition of a living page. Read the current edition.

Independent ResearchReferencecross-assetHighest SinceData Desk

A reference page, updated as the facts change rather than written once.

The columned Broad Street facade of the New York Stock Exchange building, hung with American flags.
Source: 颐园居, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Where the VIX volatility index stands versus its history

The VIX volatility index was 15.21 on Oct 12, 2026, in the lower third of its 12 month range. Updated when Cboe Global Markets publishes a new reading.

Octans ResearchPublished

Snapshot

The VIX volatility index was 15.21 on Oct 12, 2026, in the lower third of its 12 month range. The highest reading in the data is 82.69 on Mar 16, 2020 and the lowest is 9.14 on Nov 3, 2017; the data starts on Jan 2, 1990.

Coverage
Independent Research
Prepared by
Octans Research
How produced
AI drafted from cited sources, automated checks
Sector
cross-asset
As of

What We Know

  • Latest reading: 15.21 on Oct 12, 2026.
  • Previous reading: 14.84 on Oct 9, 2026, so the latest is up 0.37 points.
  • One week earlier: 15.52 on Oct 5, 2026; down 0.31 points since.
  • One year earlier: 21.66 on Oct 10, 2025; down 6.45 points since.
  • 12 month high: 31.05 on Mar 27, 2026. 12 month low: 13.47 on Dec 24, 2025.
  • 5 year high: 52.33 on Apr 8, 2025. 5 year low: 11.86 on May 21, 2024.
  • Highest since: the latest reading is the highest since Oct 8, 2026, the last time the series was at or above this level.
  • Lowest since: the latest reading is the lowest since Oct 9, 2026, the last time the series was at or below this level.
  • Highest in data back to Jan 2, 1990: 82.69 on Mar 16, 2020. Lowest: 9.14 on Nov 3, 2017.

Octans View

At 15.21, the VIX volatility index sits 10% of the way from its 12 month low to its 12 month high. Over the past year it is down 6.45 points.

Bear Case · Room for Disagreement

Limits. This page shows daily readings, not intraday levels; a market can trade above or below them during a session. Cboe Global Markets data reach FRED with a lag of one business day, so the latest reading can trail the market. Records refer only to the history this source carries; older data from other sources may show higher or lower levels. Nothing here is a forecast.

Method and source. Octans Research computes every figure on this page from the full published history of Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) series VIXCLS. "Highest since" is the last earlier date when the series was at or above the latest reading. The page is regenerated by a fixed template when a new reading is published; no model wrote it.

Chart

VIX volatility index, in the lower third of its 12 month range VIX volatility index, in the lower third of its 12 month range: series falling from 16.3pts to 15.2pts (−1.1pts) from 2021-10-15 to 2026-10-12. Scale 10pts to 50pts. 10pts20pts30pts40pts50pts 2021-10-152026-10-12 VIX VOLATILITY INDEX, IN THE LOWER THIRD OF ITS 12 MONTH RANGE −1.1pts 15.21pts
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) · As of 2026-10-12Indicative, not investment advice.

Sources

  1. [1]Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) — VIX volatility index, full daily history (series VIXCLS)

These are the sources this piece was drafted from. How we verify. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it in public.