Implied Volatility Mover
Implied volatility in the options on the SPDR Gold Fund (GLD) is up sharply amid a big drop in gold prices Friday. The yellow metal was recently down $66 to less than $1500 and its lowest levels since mid-2011. GLD, which is an exchange-traded fund that represents ownership in the metal, is down $5.29 to $145.76 in heavy trading of 35 million shares. Meanwhile, 176,000 calls and 258,000 puts traded in GLD and implied volatility in the options on the ETF is up 26 percent to 18.
Volume Signals
SPDR Financials (XLF) options volume is running 2.5X the (22-day) average, with 424,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting for 96 percent of the volume.
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) options volume is 2X, the average daily, with 333,000 contracts traded and put option volume representing 58 percent of the activity.
Barrick Gold (ABX) options volume is running 2.5X the average daily, with 106,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting for 68 percent of the activity.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Helca Mining (HL), Newmont (NEM), and Joy Global (JOY).
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