Today's option skew scan showed net call accumulations on Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX), Newmont Mining (NEM), and Goldcorp Incorporated (GG). Friday's scan showed some of those same stocks, along with Barrick Gold (ABX). The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) showed on both scans. In other words, it seems that traders are betting on a bounce. Here's a look at the recent action.

Charts Courtesy of Thomson Financial

Of course, this is nothing new. For over a month now we have seen traders jump on gold stock calls. When I touched on this topic earlier this month, we saw the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI) was nearing the second layer of long-term support. A few days later the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI) dipped below support as it pushed to an oversold extreme.

A look to the daily chart below shows the Amex Gold Bugs Index snapped back from that oversold condition with a vengeance. As it stands now, the HUI has bounced an amazing 36% from its closing low earlier this month. However, that rebound has also now begun to push the index into a short-term overbought condition. The last two occurrences the HUI hit 70 on the short-term Relative Strength Index (RSI) marked short-term peaks. A look to the weekly chart shows the push into overbought territory comes as the HUI is nearing longer-term resistance.

At this point I still think that the heavy call accumulations offer a warning sign. Since the beginning of August, historical volatility on the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI) has gone through the roof. Even after the rally off this month's lows, the index is still down more than 20% from its mid-July "mini-peak". With the group trading below resistance and nearing overbought territory amid a wave of optimism, I think the short-term bounce is closer to its end than its beginning.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Financial

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Financial