Addressing speculative rumors of large losses due to plummeting natural gas futures values, Houston-based energy hedge fund Trident Asset Management LP. said Friday that contrary to trader gossip, the fund has suffered “no major losses” and is doing fine, thank you very much.

The volatile natural gas futures market has recently proved just how volatile it can get. After trading as high as $8.120 back on June 15, August futures recorded a low of $6.575 on Thursday (July 28). With traders in awe of Thursday’s 42.8-cent meltdown in particular, rumors began circulating on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) trading floor that Trident Asset Management LP was caught on the long end of the market and was put into serious difficulty as a result. However, on Friday the company denied such reports.

“We are fine and we are in business. In fact, we are launching two new funds,” a Trident Asset Management LP. representative told NGI Friday. “We have suffered no major losses.” As to where the rumors might have been started, the spokesman added, “Who knows how these things get started. It is the world of energy.”

Commenting on the rumors, one Northeast energy trader said, “I don’t know what is going on. I don’t think anybody really has a clue. Maybe somebody got caught by the large swing and maybe they didn’t. With the drop we saw over the last couple of weeks, it is certainly possible that somebody got caught out in the cold.”

The fund, which is not to be confused with Connecticut-based Trident Asset Management LLC, was launched in 2006 by Jeff Shankman, the former COO of global markets at Enron Corp.

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