UGA Straddle Strategy
UGA (United States Gasoline Fund LP), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The fund invests in futures contracts for gasoline, other types of gasoline, crude oil, diesel-heating oil, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels. The Benchmark Futures Contract is the futures contract on gasoline as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration.
UGA (United States Gasoline Fund LP) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $114.9M, a beta of 1.68 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 57.63-124.6, average daily share volume of 85K, a public-listing history dating back to 2008. These structural characteristics shape how UGA etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.68 indicates UGA has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a straddle on UGA?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current UGA snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $122.76, ATM IV 61.70%, IV rank 45.85%, expected move 17.69%. The straddle on UGA below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 34-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on UGA specifically: UGA IV at 61.70% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 17.69% (roughly $21.71 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated UGA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UGA should anchor to the underlying notional of $122.76 per share and to the trader's directional view on UGA etf.
UGA straddle setup
The UGA straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With UGA near $122.76, the first option leg uses a $123.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UGA chain at a 34-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 UGA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $123.00 | $8.40 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $123.00 | $9.60 |
UGA straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$1,800.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$1,761.81
- Breakeven(s)
- $105.00, $141.00
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
UGA straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on UGA. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | +$10,499.00 |
| $27.15 | -77.9% | +$7,784.82 |
| $54.29 | -55.8% | +$5,070.64 |
| $81.44 | -33.7% | +$2,356.46 |
| $108.58 | -11.6% | -$357.72 |
| $135.72 | +10.6% | -$528.10 |
| $162.86 | +32.7% | +$2,186.09 |
| $190.00 | +54.8% | +$4,900.27 |
| $217.14 | +76.9% | +$7,614.45 |
| $244.29 | +99.0% | +$10,328.63 |
When traders use straddle on UGA
Straddles on UGA are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy UGA straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
UGA thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UGA extends from approximately $101.05 on the downside to $144.47 on the upside. A UGA long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current UGA IV rank near 45.85% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the straddle thesis on UGA should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, UGA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UGA-specific events.
UGA straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. UGA positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UGA alongside the broader basket even when UGA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current UGA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on UGA?
- A straddle on UGA is the straddle strategy applied to UGA (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With UGA etf trading near $122.76, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UGA chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are UGA straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the UGA straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 61.70%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,761.81 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a UGA straddle?
- The breakeven for the UGA straddle priced on this page is roughly $105.00 and $141.00 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current UGA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 17.69%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on UGA?
- Straddles on UGA are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy UGA straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current UGA implied volatility affect this straddle?
- UGA ATM IV is at 61.70% with IV rank near 45.85%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.