Conn. hedge fund raises loss estimate.

(From AFX Europe (Focus))

HARTFORD, Conn. (AFX) - A Connecticut hedge fund that bet heavily on the natural gas market lost almost $6 billion over the past month, partly because it sold other assets at a loss to stay afloat while its gas investments plummeted, the fund told investors in a letter.

Greenwich-based Amaranth Advisors said in a letter late Wednesday that the fund lost about 55 percent of its year-to-date assets, and about 65 percent month-to-date as of Tuesday.

That is higher than the estimated 35 percent year-to-date loss announced earlier this week, and it leaves the hedge fund's assets below $3.5 billion.

The company, which opened the year with $7.4 billion, hit an August high of $9.2 billion before a slide in the value of natural gas investments depleted much of its assets.

It announced Wednesday that it had transferred its energy …