Wall Street's commodity traders on track to break profit records

The world’s biggest banks are on track to make a killing in commodities this year, surpassing the record sums they made in the financial crisis.

The 100 biggest banks by revenue are set to make US$18 billion from commodities trading in 2022, according to data and estimates from Vali Analytics in London. That would be the highest in the data, which goes back 14 years, and exceed the previous high watermark in 2009.

The prediction is the latest evidence that the wild swings in energy prices triggered by the war in Ukraine are delivering a boon to commodity traders, even as they push European nations into crisis.