Statar Capital, a Miami-based hedge fund specialising in natural gas trading founded by former Citadel and DE Shaw Trader Ron Ozer, has booked big profits from a large bet on the easing of European gas market volatility sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites people familiar with the matter as revealing that in November, Statar doubled its €350m investment by buying put options valued at around $13 to $15 which jumped to nearly $25 by early February when the firm closed its positions.

The bumper profit generated, which some traders have dubbed 'the trade of the year' according to Bloomberg, marks something of a turnaround for Statar which ended 2023 with $2.9bn under management after registering its first ever annual loss since it began trading in 2018. The fund lost 0.6% in 2023 compared to a 30.3% gain in the previous year, according to Bloomberg's sources.