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LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Global commodities-relatedrevenue at the top 10 investment banks tumbled by a quarter inthe first half of the year, due to a retreat in business fromthe power and gas sectors after last year's surge, a consultancysaid on Tuesday.
Revenue earned by leading banks from commodity trading,selling derivatives to investors and other activities in thesector fell to $2.6 billion from $3.5 billion in the same periodof 2014, financial industry analytics firm Coalition said.
"Despite increased volatility in oil prices and bettercorporate activity, commodities revenues declined due to (the)absence of prior-year gains from the unusually cold winter,"Coalition said.
Last year, a cold winter in North America created volatilityand boosted activity in power and gas, while this year tradinghas increased in the oil sector due to a sharp fall and partialrecovery in prices.
Higher volatility in financial markets typically opens uptrading opportunities.
The banks' commodities revenue had climbed 9 percent to $4.9billion during the whole of last year, reversing three years ofdeclines, due to increased activity in energy markets as oilwent into freefall. Yet revenue was still just over a third ofthe $14.1 billion banks racked up in 2008 at the height of thecommodities boom.
Many investors have shunned commodities in recent years dueto lacklustre performance and as the sector was buffeted byeconomic events, moving in step with other assets.
The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters/Core Commodity CRB index shed 18 percent last year and is down 7.5 percent sofar in 2015.
Banks continued an exodus from commodities trading in 2014due partly to tougher regulation and higher capital requirementsafter the global financial crisis.
Coalition tracks the following banks: Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas,Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, MorganStanley and UBS. (Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by David Holmes)
