Reuters – Andrew Hall’s $3.1 billion commodity hedge fund lost 14.4 percent in May, as crude prices tumbled a month after the legendary energy trader told investors he was bullish on oil because of tightening global supplies, according to sources familiar with the fund’s performance.
The poor showing in May for Hall’s Astenbeck fund – the second-largest monthly loss in its history – means it was down 6.4 percent for the year through May 31, fund data given to Reuters shows. That wiped out Hall’s gains in the first quarter of 2012 and means Astenbeck must crawl out of a hole to avoid a second straight year of losses.
In a letter sent to Astenbeck’s investors on Monday, obtained by Reuters, Hall called May a “mensis horribilis” – Latin for ‘horrible month’ – “for nearly all risk assets and anyone who owned them.”
