George Soros, the highly successful financier who runs the Quantum Fund, and Julian Robertson, the hedge fund manager who is responsible for the Tiger fund, have emerged as being among the clear winners in the copper market's tug-of-war.
Following revelations by giant Japanese trading house Sumitomo that it had incurred US$1.8 billion of losses through unauthorised copper trading, its senior trader Yasuo Hamanaka was sacked, ending the two-way pull in the market which had hitherto defied fundamentals.
It is now expected that copper could be in for a sharp fall in the medium term as the continuing oversupply of the metal combines with the existing copper stock overhang to send prices lower.
Traders confirmed yesterday that Sumitomo's extensive long positions seemed to have compelled Mr Hamanaka to try to support the market, but he had been constantly thwarted in his attempts by the short positions taken by the hedge funds, which were effectively on the other side of Mr Hamanaka's bets on the market.
'With Mr Hamanaka out of the equation, the funds are able to let their influence gain more sway in the market,' one trader said.
'They take a view that the market should be trending lower,' Rajat Kohli of MC Securities in London added.
