Leading banks’ revenues from commodities soar 85% in 2020

Commodities-related revenue at the world’s 12 biggest investment banks surged by 85 percent last year compared to 2019 as oil and metals trading made further strong gains, according to consultancy Coalition, Report informs referring to Reuters.

Commodities revenue at the 12 banks climbed for a third successive year after several years of declines, hitting its lowest for more than a decade in 2017.

During 2020, revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector rose to $7.5 billion, the financial industry analytics firm said.

"In energy, oil was the key performer with continued growth throughout the year driven by large one-off gains and increased corporate hedging activity," the consultancy said.

The banks Coalition tracks for its quarterly reports include Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale and UBS.

As of 13:30 (GMT+4), the price of May futures for North Sea Brent oil blend was growing by 2.02 percent, to $68.09, April futures for WTI oil - by 1.86 percent, to $65.02 per barrel. Brent price rose above $68 and WTI rose above $65 per barrel for the first time since Jan. 8, 2020.