One of the things most options traders watch is what the VIX curve looks like. It's not just the overall shape that matters, it's how steep the curve is, much like skew. Last month at this time, the VIX was trading at 13.7. The Feb future was trading 14.35, a premium of about 5% to VIX cash. This is about normal, and points toward a market that is somewhat efficient and comfortable with VIX levels. The VIX futures ended up settling 13.07.
Today, the VIX settled 12.25, while the VIX future settled 13.20, a premium of near a full point. This is a premium to cash of closer to 10% than 5%. In fact, the enter curve is trading at huge percentage premiums relative to the norm. You can see the two curves next to each other below.
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