From MoneyBeat:
Why Astenbeck’s Andrew Hall is Playing the Waiting Game
Famed oil trader Andrew Hall is keeping his foot off the pedal.
Mr. Hall, who rose to fame at Citigroup Inc. and now runs $3.2 billion hedge-fund firm Astenbeck Capital Management LLC, wrote to investors this month to say he is continuing to trim exposures across the board, according to a letter viewed by MoneyBeat.
The only exception is a long position in the U.S. dollar, which Mr. Hall (and many rival hedge fund managers) believe will continue to appreciate.
But Mr. Hall is known more as a commodities specialist, making it more significant that he has no net positions in metals, and is mostly avoiding near near-term delivery contracts for U.S. and Brent crude.
As The Wall Street Journal first reported last month, Mr. Hall is holding an increasingly large share of his portfolio in cash amid falling oil prices. Light sweet crude for November delivery finished trading Friday at $85.82 a barrel, down more than 4% this week alone.He was bragging up profits in the long-dated futures but over the last five weeks they are also down.
Mr. Hall may be in the mood to buy soon. In the most recent letter, he wrote that falling crude prices are “close to a level” where he would consider buying more long-dated contracts, particularly for delivery at least three years out.
“Lower prices should stimulate demand for oil both directly and indirectly by boosting global GDP growth,” he writes. “$85 could be a bargain.”...MORE
Possibly also of interest:
Oil: Former Phibro Guru Andy Hall Bets Against Shale, Buys Long-dated Futures
$100 Million Oil Trader Andy Hall: Maybe He Wasn't As Good As Advertised
How Some of the Biggest Funds in Oil Trading Got Wrong-footed By the Widening Brent-WTI Spread
Phibro Superstar Andrew Hall’s Commodity Hedge Fund, Austenback Down 10% YTD
The Last Word On Oil Trader Andy Hall and Life On the Right Hand Side of the Distribution
Occidental buys Citi firm Phibro for $250 million (OXY)
