It isn’t unusual for the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) to drop before a weekend and then pop on Monday morning. That is especially true before a long weekend for those who are concerned with Theta (time decay). Since options are deteriorating assets, their value declines over time. As an option approaches its expiration date without being in the money, its time value declines because the probability of that option being in the money (profitable) is reduced. The more time to expiration, the more time it has to be profitable. With less time, the probably is lower it will ever swing high enough. Theta is a ratio of the change (relative strength) of an option price to the decrease in time to expiration.

With that said, the VIX reached its prior low today. Here is what it looks like on a daily chart:

Below we zoom in with an hourly chart for a closer view:

You may notice the last time it reached this level it gained nearly 20% quickly. The swings in implied volatility are very significant. We’ll see next week if it does it again. Or, if it is on its way to single digits.