- COMEX doesn't list a Jun17 Silver Call option contract. The article doesn't indicate whether it is another exchange or OTC;
- The COMEX May17 $21.00 Silver Calls settled at 7.8 cents on 20 February (which is a good deal cheaper than the 16.3 cents reported on these unidentified Jun17 $21.00 Calls.
I am sure there is a good reason for these discrepancies, but haven't found it yet.
Accepting the article at face value...
I doubt very much whether these trades are intended to form part of a Strangle. For a trade of this size with no corresponding trades in related legs, it looks to me like someone has sold a simple "Covered Call".
The Covered Call strategy is used by a long term owner of silver who is convinced that the price of silver is not going to trade as high as $21 before June. Holding this view, they think that it is safe to sell the options and pocket the premiums.
Is this a good trade?
Precious metal vols spent most of 2016 under 20% and have recently spiked up to around 25%, so it might be a good opportunity to sell if you think that 2017 is going to much the same as 2016. I am prepared to bet that there are a few Silver investors on HC who don't think that.
