UK hedge fund group Lansdowne Partners has racked up paper gains of about £140 million this year from a short position in Glencore following a sharp fall in commodity prices this year.

Shares in Glencore, the global commodities trader and mining company, fell 8% to about 162p following Wednesday's news that it made a net loss of $676 million in the half year to June, against a profit of $1.72 billion in the same period a year ago. The share price was around the same level at midday on Friday meaning the shares have fallen 46% since the start of the year - when Lansdowne's short position stood at 0.81%.