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Fear Index

📉 What is the VIX?

The VIX measures the market’s expected annualized volatility over the next 30 days, derived from prices of S&P 500 index options russellinvestments.com+15en.wikipedia.org+15chartschool.stockcharts.com+15.
Values below ~20 generally suggest market calm, while readings above ~30 signal elevated fear investopedia.com.

Trailing 12‑Month Average

This suggests that recent volatility levels have been slightly below the typical 1‑year average—consistent with a relatively calm market environment.

Past 30 Days (Trailing One Month)

Based on daily figures from late May through June 2025 from Investing.com and FRED:

So the past 30‑day average (~19) is just slightly above the 12‑month average (~18.75), reflecting some mild volatility as compared to the subdued longer-term mean.

📈 Interpreting the Charts & Trends

  • Historical context: The VIX has spiked near or above 20–25 during periods of stress and fallen into a 10–15 range in calmer times chartschool.stockcharts.com.
  • Mean reversion: Volatility tends to move toward its long-term average—these recent averages imply the VIX is in a neutral zone, neither excessively low nor panic‑high .
  • Overestimation premium: Historically, the VIX tends to overstate future volatility by ~4–5 percentage points versus realized VIX, when measured over 252 trading days (~1 year) spglobal.com.
Average Monthly VIX (July 2024 - June 2025)
July 202423.13
August 202424.34
September 202424.42
October 202425.08
November 202426.06
December 202423.53
January 202523.31
February 202526.82
March 202525.39
April 202525.54
May 202521.31
June 202518.63

30-Day Weekly VIX (May 16, 2025 - June 27, 2025)
May 16, 202520.31
May 23, 202526.36
May 30, 202518.57
June 06, 202516.77
June 13, 202520.82
June 20, 202520.62
June 27, 202516.32

Visualizing Market Fear: See VIX Charts in Action

Understanding the data behind the Fear Index is essential, but seeing the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) in visual form brings the story to life. Charts allow us to spot patterns, identify major spikes in investor fear, and compare historical reactions to key market events. Whether you’re monitoring for short-term volatility or evaluating longer-term sentiment trends, a visual representation of the VIX is an indispensable part of any trader’s toolkit.

For swing traders, these charts can highlight key inflection points—such as when fear peaks and begins to subside—which often coincide with market bottoms or reversals. At Above the Green Line, we closely watch VIX levels in conjunction with our technical strategies to help identify high-probability buying opportunities when panic selling has likely peaked.

If you’re looking to take your understanding of market sentiment a step further, we encourage you to view the live and historical VIX charts linked below. These charts provide an interactive way to explore how volatility behaves over time and how it relates to broader market movements.

👉 Click here to view VIX charts
or use your preferred charting platform to track the VIX alongside key indicators.