In the midst of Monday’s lackluster and volatility-less trading session, the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) climbed stealthily higher finishing the day up 2.64%. The rise was accompanied by higher-than-average volume and marks a bullish change in character for what has otherwise been a boring four months for the precious metal.

With that advance, SLV has also climbed decisively back above its 50-day moving average and cleared the $27.50 resistance zone that previously halted attempts to reverse its downtrend.

On the derivatives front, traders showed a healthy uptick in their appetite for SLV options as increased demand drove implied volatility up almost 6.7% on the day. Total daily option volume for calls and puts rose to just under 165,000 contracts — the highest level in the past seven weeks.

Traders looking for continued upside in SLV can consider the following two bullish option plays.

1) Sell the October 26 put for 50 cents or better

This represents the higher-probability play of the two and can be considered a bet that SLV fails to fall beneath $25.50 by October expiration. A longer-term view of SLV reveals the $25.50 level to be a pivotal weekly support level that has halted the past few sell-offs. Provided this level continues to hold, the short put play will produce a winner.

Click to Enlarge2) Buy October 27-29 bull call spread for 97 cents or better

Buying the call spread provides a more aggressive position to exploit a rise north of $29 in the coming months. To initiate the position, traders would buy the October 27 call while selling the October 29 call. The max risk is limited to the initial $97 paid at trade entry and will be incurred if SLV sits beneath $27 at October expiration. The max reward is capped at $103 and will be captured if SLV sits above $29 at expiration.

At the time of this writing Tyler Craig had no positions on SLV.