Andrew Hall / 2008 / Commodity Long

A shortage years in the making.

Andrew Hall and the slow adjustment of physical supply.

Oil Futures LongPhibro (Citigroup)Workbook estimate
The story

Before the outcome was obvious.

The oil case in the workbook is built on a tension between growing demand and constrained supply. Unlike a financial position, a new source of production cannot be opened with a keystroke. That lag can allow an imbalance to persist. The model represents a multiyear commodity view with futures, ending in the 2008 oil spike. Its clean endpoint should not be mistaken for a smooth journey or a complete account of Hall’s book.

What could have gone wrong

Demand destruction, new supply, futures roll costs and leverage can overturn or erode a commodity thesis.

Understand the physical clock. Supply responses and financial holding periods rarely move at the same speed.
The numbers / interactive

Put the thesis to the test.

Change the assumptions and watch the arithmetic update. These are simplified scenarios; they do not recreate the instrument’s pricing or the path of the trade.

Model profit$1bn
Profit / stated position33.3%
Position / fund assets1.5×
How this model works

Profit ratio = profit ÷ stated position. Exposure ratio = stated position ÷ fund assets. Neither is a measure of maximum loss or a net investor return.

The workbook’s simple annualisation is profit ratio × 365 ÷ duration = 6.7%. It is linear, not compounded, and is not a repeatable annual return. Fees, financing, collateral, premium carry and changing exposures are not modelled.

Evidence & source record

What these figures mean.

Source: Legendary Trades Models, Master Comparison!A10:L10; Trade P&L Models, case 7. The following are original workbook inputs, preserved for transparency. They are estimates, not independently audited results.

Workbook position
$3bn
Workbook “gross profit”
$1bn
Workbook duration
1,825 days
Workbook fund assets
$2bn
Workbook fund return
100%
Workbook position ROI
33.3%

The fund-return field is a separate source claim, not a calculated result of this trade. Its reporting period and gross/net basis are not independently established here. Model ratios are recalculated from inputs rather than copied from rounded source ROI values.

Read the collection’s full methodology ↗

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