Volatility index surges into settlement

The April VIX settlement came in today at 15.46, well above yesterday's close and right in the middle of this morning's range.

The volatility index finished trading yesterday at 13.95, so those who were long VIX futures or calls got a nice surprise.

The spot VIX is now up 1.60 points, or 11.7 percent, to 15.59. The pop has it back above the now-front-month May VIX futures, which are up 0.60 points to 15.35. The June futures are up 0.35 points to 16.05. This has the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX) up 5.45 percent to 19.92.

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