Aluminum Option Price

Option valuations are not as straightforward as futures valuation. Option premiums are comprised of intrinsic value and extrinsic value.

An option has intrinsic value if the market is trading above the strike price of a call option, or below the strike price of a put option. If an option contract has intrinsic value it is called “in the money.” If an option contract does not have intrinsic value it is called “out of the money.”

For example:

If aluminum is trading at $1.00, a $.95 call option is $.05 in the money so the intrinsic value of the option is $2,200.

The extrinsic value of the option is its “time value.” Extrinsic value takes into account the possibility that an option may go in the money by expiration. The more time an option has the more extrinsic value it has. As an option approaches its expiration date, it loses value. This is called time decay. At expiration an option has no extrinsic value so if the option is out of the money it expires worthless.

Aluminum option prices do not move in tandem with futures prices. A $.01 move in your favor in the aluminum futures market does not necessarily equal to a $.01 increase in the aluminum option value. The amount that an option value will increase based upon an increase in its futures price is called its delta. Call option deltas are measures from 0 to 1. As an option goes from “out of the money” to “in the money” its delta increases.

For example:

If an aluminum call option has a delta of .5 and the price of the aluminum futures market increases by $.01 the value of the option will increase by $0.005 or $220.