Oil 'God' Andy Hall is shutting down his main hedge fund after it tanked 30%
Andy Hall, a trader nicknamed the "God" of the oil and energy markets, is closing down his main hedge fund at Astenbeck Capital Management, CNBC has confirmed.
The hedge fund posted large losses in the first half of the year, according to an earlier Bloomberg report. The flagship fund, Astenbeck Master Commodities Fund II, has tanked nearly 30 percent through June, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
CNBC has reached out to Astenbeck Capital Management for comment.
In July, Hall told investors in a letter that the global crude market had "materially worsened." He said OPEC has little control of the oil markets, and that $50 per barrel is the new normal, according to Bloomberg.
Oil remains mired in a prolonged downturn that has seen crude prices crater from over $100 a barrel in 2014 to about $50 today. OPEC and other oil exporters have tried to drain a glut of oil by cutting their output, but the effort is taking longer than anticipated.
Hall got his nickname for his ability to accurately predict the direction of oil markets. His main claim to fame came in 2008, a year in which he got a $100 million bonus as an oil trader at Citi. That huge payout prompted a backlash, and a year later Citi sold Hall's Philbro trading division to Occidental Petroleum. This isn't the first time he has struggled, either. Two years ago Astenbeck was posting losses after oil prices fell.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Hall has resisted bearish sentiment in the oil market this year.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Hall is closing only Astenbeck Master Commodities Fund II. A previous version of the story misstated this fact.
Source : CNBC.com
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