Chart of the week: Where's the volatility?

While volatility has picked up in the early part of November, it had been a relatively calm past several months for stocks. That's despite October historically being the most volatile month of the year on average. While volatility as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index (more commonly referred to as the VIX) climbed into November, it was well below that of the same period last year and compared to October's historical average. This relative lack of volatility reflected the sideways trend for stocks that has persisted over the last few months as bullish and bearish factors have grappled for market control.