How Are Options Traders Playing Silver's Wild Swings?

In the span of only a month, silver prices (and gold prices) had their Icarus moment, trading at record high levels before a sharp, sudden drawdown. There's been some stabilization today, with the alternative safe-haven asset last seen up nearly 10%. Where does that leave silver exchange-traded fund (ETF) iShares Silver Trust (SLV)?

SLV is up 4.4% to trade at $75.65, poised to snap a three-day losing streak that caused the ETF to shed over 32% of its value. Prior to the profit-taking pullback, the ETF traded at a record $109.83, and even now is up 169% year-over-year, with support at the 50-day moving average.

Though calls have been outweighing puts on an absolute basis, puts have been picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate of late. SLV's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.69 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 99% of readings from the past year.