Gold just had its best week in seven months, and at least one well-known options trader is using the strength to add more exposure.
According to CNBC, the metal jumped roughly 7% last week, marking its largest weekly advance since January. The move was fueled by a softer U.S. dollar, falling Treasury yields, and employment data that came in weaker than expected — enough to ease fears that the Federal Reserve would need to aggressively hike interest rates.
But the labor report wasn’t as dire as it first appeared. Layoffs remained low, private employment actually rose by 30,000, and the headline number was skewed by a seasonal drop of roughly 50,000 government education jobs. Still, the market took it as a sign that the Fed’s tightening path may be less steep, which tends to support non-yielding assets like gold.
Mike Khouw, co-founder of Optimize Advisors and a frequent contributor on CNBC’s “Fast Money,” said the macro backdrop has improved enough that he’s buying more gold exposure. He noted that gold itself remains below its 150-day moving average, but the more leveraged plays — the gold miner ETFs GDX and GDXJ — are now bumping up against that same trendline.
More importantly, Khouw pointed to Newmont Mining, the largest constituent of the gold miner complex, which has already broken through its 150-day moving average. In his view, that technical breakout in the sector’s biggest name suggests the broader ETFs, including GDX and even GLD, could soon follow.
From an options perspective, Khouw highlighted that gold currently has a more symmetric “volatility smile” — meaning out-of-the-money calls carry higher implied volatility than at-the-money calls. That structure improves the payoff of a long call spread, or debit spread, relative to what you’d see with a similar strategy on the S&P 500.
As an example, he cited a November 400/460 call spread on SPDR Gold Shares (GLD). That trade would cost about $16.15, or just over 25% of the difference between the strike prices. Because each contract represents 100 shares, the total outlay would be $1,615. If GLD were to rally another 15% over the next 100 days, the upside payoff would be nearly 3:1.
Of course, options strategies come with their own risks, including the possibility that the underlying asset doesn’t move in the expected direction or that time decay erodes the value of the position. But for traders who believe gold’s breakout has further to run, the current volatility setup may offer a more favorable entry point than in recent months.
As always, individual investors should weigh their own risk tolerance and do their own research before making any trading decisions.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/10/gold-just-had-its-best-week-in-7-months-heres-why-mike-khouw-is-buying-more.html
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Do your own research and consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.
