Gold price heads into the weekend after a volatile end to the week, but unusual activity in the COMEX options market is drawing attention to the possibility of considerably higher prices later this year.
An options-market observer reported unusually large additions to December 2026 out-of-the-money gold calls on September 10. According to the data shared, open interest increased by 8,168 contracts at the $4,725 strike and 8,184 contracts at $5,225.
The observer described it as the largest single-day addition to COMEX gold calls they had seen since beginning to monitor the market.
The positioning is particularly interesting because it appeared during a difficult session for precious metals. Gold fell nearly 2% on Thursday as bond-market pressure and higher yields weighed on non-yielding assets. It subsequently recovered more than 1% on Friday, with spot gold around $4,363 and U.S. futures settling near $4,409.
What you'll learn 👉
Why the $5,225 Gold Calls Matter
A call option gives its holder the right to obtain exposure at a predetermined strike price. Buying calls far above the current gold price can therefore represent a relatively inexpensive way to position for a substantial rally.
The $5,225 contracts are especially notable because that strike sits roughly 20% above Friday’s spot price.
However, the activity shouldn’t automatically be interpreted as one whale making a simple directional bet on $5,225 gold. Options can form part of spreads, volatility trades or hedges, and open-interest changes alone don’t reveal the identity or complete strategy of the participants involved.
Comex Gold Call Options Alert!
— MBAeconomics (@MBAeconomics1) September 12, 2026
Unusual OTM call option activity appeared yesterday (Sept. 10th) in the December 2026 Comex gold options:
$4,725 strike: +8,168 calls⁰$5,225 strike: +8,184 calls
Since I started monitoring Comex call options, I’ve never seen this many contracts… pic.twitter.com/emP6Tl2Mo7
Still, adding thousands of contracts at distant upside strikes indicates substantial interest in exposure to a scenario where gold moves considerably higher before the December contracts expire.
It could also become relevant from a dealer-hedging perspective. If dealers are net short calls and gold moves closer to those strikes, they may need to buy additional futures as option deltas increase. Under the right positioning and market conditions, that process can amplify an existing rally.
That is the basis of the potential “gamma squeeze” argument, although the call activity by itself doesn’t establish that such a squeeze will occur.
Bond Market Pressure Creates a Complicated Setup for Gold
The timing makes the options activity even more interesting.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield approached 5% on Friday before easing toward 4.92%. Meanwhile, August CPI rose 0.4% month over month and 3.4% year over year. Core CPI increased 0.3%, above the 0.2% consensus estimate. Markets consequently raised the probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase next week to around 87%.
Normally, rising yields create problems for gold because investors can earn higher returns from interest-bearing assets.
Yet gold found buyers after Thursday’s decline. Reuters reported that the metal’s Friday recovery was consistent with buyers establishing a short-term floor following the recent retreat.
This creates competing forces for gold: high yields and tighter monetary-policy expectations remain near-term obstacles, while inflation concerns, geopolitical uncertainty and stress in global bond markets can preserve demand for gold as a defensive asset.
Read also: Gold Price Forecast: Analyst Predicts $5,000 Gold by Mid-October
Gold Price Outlook for Today
Because September 12 is Saturday, the main institutional gold markets are closed. That means there is no regular COMEX session today, so the more useful outlook is for where gold stands heading into the next trading session.
Friday’s recovery improves the immediate picture, but gold hasn’t yet erased the damage from Thursday’s decline.
The first area to watch is approximately $4,400–$4,420. A sustained move above that region would make $4,450 the next hurdle, followed by $4,500. Beyond there, the $4,540–$4,550 region remains a much more important technical test.
On the downside, roughly $4,350 is the first area bulls will want to defend. Losing it could put $4,300–$4,320 back in focus, while a deeper breakdown would expose approximately $4,250.
For now, a realistic near-term scenario is continued consolidation between roughly $4,300 and $4,450 while traders wait for the Federal Reserve’s September 15–16 meeting.
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