Gold options markets have turned more bullish as investors pay more for upside exposure than for downside protection while the metal recovers from a sharp summer slide. Susquehanna said one-month implied volatility remains near recent lows even as skew has swung toward calls, reversing the earlier summer pattern when downside put protection was relatively richer. Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at the firm, highlighted a purchase of 8,000 November 460 calls on the SPDR Gold Trust at about $5.55 and roughly 25,000 September 350 puts at $0.62, showing that upside demand has strengthened even though hedging remains active. Gold fell for four straight months from March through June, dropping more than 25% as U.S. strikes on Iran lifted oil prices, fueled inflation concerns and pushed up Federal Reserve rate-hike bets and real yields, but the metal gained about 2% in July, drew $3 billion into gold ETFs after two months of outflows, and has risen more than 8% in August to trade back above $4,300; traders now see coming Fed meetings as key to whether the rally extends.