(Bloomberg) -- Ron Ozer, a natural gas trading specialist known for outsize bets on the volatile market, has made a big come back as his hedge fund emerges from double-digit declines earlier in the year.
Miami-based Statar Capital is up about 23% through mid-December, according to people with knowledge of the matter. It’s a reversal from earlier this year when the fund posted losses of 2% by July after dropping about 13% in the three months through June.
Hedge funds have piled into commodities in recent years thanks to increased volatility in energy markets since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and triggered an energy crisis. But the bumper profits seen of the past years have started to subside, with earnings from big traders such as Trafigura Group Pte and Gunvor Group Ltd. normalizing recently.
Statar’s gains are mainly attributed to wagers linked to US natural gas trading, European gas and oil, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorize to comment publicly. A spokesperson for Statar declined to comment.
While energy prices have fallen from the records seen in 2022, the markets are still prone to jitters due to geopolitical events such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, supply disruptions and extreme weather events. Volatility has dominated European markets in particular. The region’s growing exposure to international markets means events happening thousands of miles away can trigger sharp price swings.
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