The VIX
CBOE Volatility Index: VIX
The number, plainly.
The market's expectation of near-term stock volatility, the 'fear gauge'.
Higher, lower, and what each means.
A low number means the market is pricing calm; a spike means it is bracing for turbulence. Calm is not the same as safe.
A reading is not a verdict. The Scan phase of Woodring’s Loop collects the signal; the Story phase asks what futures it is consistent with, and only the Stake phase turns that into a decision. This page does the first part.
The line in your 2027 plan.
Tests: how calm a year you assumed.
Write the assumption down, name the reading that would break it, and put a date on when it has to be argued again. That is the 18-Month Sunset applied to one line of a budget. The Last Annual Planshows what this season’s moves have already done to the common ones.
The last 36 readings.
Most recent first. Every value is as published by FRED at the time of the last refresh; FRED revises some series after the fact.
| Date | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2026 | 19.46 | −2.3% |
| Nov 9, 2026 | 19.92 | −22.3% |
| Nov 6, 2026 | 25.64 | −9.0% |
| Nov 5, 2026 | 28.18 | +69.7% |
| Nov 4, 2026 | 16.61 | −20.3% |
| Nov 3, 2026 | 20.83 | −1.5% |
| Nov 2, 2026 | 21.15 | +8.9% |
| Oct 30, 2026 | 19.42 | +12.9% |
| Oct 29, 2026 | 17.20 | +1.7% |
| Oct 28, 2026 | 16.91 | −3.5% |
| Oct 27, 2026 | 17.52 | −4.7% |
| Oct 26, 2026 | 18.39 | −5.4% |
| Oct 23, 2026 | 19.45 | +2.2% |
| Oct 22, 2026 | 19.03 | +14.1% |
| Oct 21, 2026 | 16.68 | −3.6% |
| Oct 20, 2026 | 17.31 | −6.1% |
| Oct 19, 2026 | 18.44 | −7.8% |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 19.99 | +21.4% |
| Oct 15, 2026 | 16.46 | −2.4% |
| Oct 14, 2026 | 16.87 | +10.5% |
| Oct 13, 2026 | 15.27 | +0.4% |
| Oct 12, 2026 | 15.21 | +2.5% |
| Oct 9, 2026 | 14.84 | −3.7% |
| Oct 8, 2026 | 15.41 | +2.2% |
| Oct 7, 2026 | 15.08 | +0.5% |
| Oct 6, 2026 | 15.01 | −3.3% |
| Oct 5, 2026 | 15.52 | +1.4% |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 15.31 | −6.6% |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 16.39 | +0.3% |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 16.34 | +1.9% |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 16.04 | −0.2% |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 16.07 | +8.1% |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 14.87 | −5.1% |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 15.67 | +3.2% |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 15.18 | +6.8% |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 14.21 | — |
Also in Markets and liquidity.
When The VIX moves, know what it tests.
The monthly Signal Layer covers every series in the library: what moved, which planning assumptions it tests, and what a continuous-planning team does about it. One email a month. Unsubscribe in one click.
Where the number comes from.
CBOE Volatility Index: VIX (VIXCLS), retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: fred.stlouisfed.org/series/VIXCLS. Refreshed daily; 120 readings on file from May 27, 2026 to Nov 10, 2026.
Predictive Planning Institute, Signal Library: The VIX (VIXCLS). predictiveplanning.com/signals/VIXCLS. Data via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Value 19.46 as of Nov 10, 2026.