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One-ounce gold bars at the Valcambi SA precious metals refinery in Balerna, Switzerland, on Friday, Sept. 9, 2025. Valcambi SA, Switzerland's largest refiner, processes up to 2,000 tons of precious metals a year at its site in Balerna on the border with Italy. Photographer: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Options investors are increasingly paying for participation in further upside in gold, according to quantitative trading firm Susquehanna.
Gold has rallied while one-month implied volatility remains near recent lows, according to Chris Murphy, the co-head of derivatives strategy at the firm, noting that this allows investors to increase upside exposure without paying for higher volume. At the same time, the precious metal has seen renewed inflows.
Murphy cited a trade in which 8,000 November 460 calls on the SPDR Gold Trust were bought for about $5.55. The exchange-traded fund closed on Monday at $405.49.
Changes in skew, which measures demand for options at various price points, have been particularly key, Murphy noted.
Gold "skew has shifted materially away from downside puts and toward upside calls, reversing the earlier summer setup when put protection was relatively richer; that shift has already shown up in recent flow, " Murphy said, noting a recent purchase of roughly 25,000 Sep. 350 puts for $0.62 that "took advantage of cheaper downside protection."
"The backdrop is also being supported by flows, with gold funds seeing their strongest inflows since January," the quantitative trading firm said.
Spot gold was up 0.3% to $4,428.43 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery edged 0.2% higher to settle at $4,482.40.
