How Does Implied Volatility Affect Option Premiums?

Implied volatility (IV) is a market's estimate of the future volatility of the underlying asset's price. A higher IV indicates that the market expects larger price swings, increasing the probability that the option will end up "in the money." Therefore, a rise in implied volatility generally leads to an increase in the option's premium (price).

Conversely, a decrease in IV will typically lower the premium. IV is a crucial component of option pricing models like Black-Scholes.