Parabolic AI rally has bulls eyeing a comeback for this one-time meme metal trade
AI trading has taken many forms this year, from the rise of semiconductors to record-breaking ETFs to a new rally in Mag-7 shares.
Now traders are eyeing an older version of this theme in the latest leg of the rally: silver.
Silver prices rose 7% on Monday, reaching their highest level since March, while copper rose 3.3% to $6.50, setting a new record. Both metals are used for thermal conductivity and electrical wiring in data centers to meet demand for artificial intelligence, but silver appears to be attracting more attention at retail.
Trade iShares Silver ETF (SLV) This was followed by heavily bullish option action. There were more than twice as many calls bought than puts, with more than 90,000 calls bought compared to just 31,000 puts.
iShares Silver Trust, YTD
At least one trader was optimistic enough to place both a put and a call on a trade with over a million dollars at risk. They sold more than 1,000 of the 70-strike puts expiring June 18 for $259,000 and then applied those proceeds to a million-dollar purchase of more than 1,900 80-strike calls expiring the same day on SLV, looking for an 11% rally over the next 5.5 weeks.
SLV is up more than 300% from the start of 2025 to its January high, but has underperformed this year’s strong semiconductor rally as precious metals trading struggles, perhaps interest rates fluctuate and commodity bulls focus on volatility in crude oil.
