Ron Ozer, a specialist in natural gas trading known for making significant bets in the volatile market, has managed to reduce losses at his Miami-based hedge fund Statar Capital after experiencing double-digit declines earlier in the second quarter, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that Statar is currently down about 2% for the year, following a recovery in July. The fund, which managed $2.9bn at the end of March according to an investor letter, saw a steep 13% fall in the three months to the end of June, having been up 5% in the first quarter of the year.

The majority of Statar's Q2 losses came in April and May, according to Bloomberg's sources.

Commodity hedge funds tracked by Bloomberg reported an average increase of about 8% in the first half of the year.

Founded in 2018 by Ozer, who previously traded for Citadel and DE Shaw & Co, Statar Capital primarily invests in natural gas, with oil, metals, agriculture, and other commodities making up the remainder of its portfolio.

This year's decline follows the Statar's first ever annual drop — a 0.6% decrease in 2023, according to an investor document, which came on the back of a 30% gain in 2022 and returns exceeding 50% in each of the two preceding years.