Merrill Q2 commods revenue up almost 60 pct

NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co MER.N,
said on Thursday commodities were one of the bright spots in an
otherwise "difficult and disappointing" second quarter at the
third largest U.S. investment bank.

Merrill said year-on-year revenue for commodities grew
nearly 60 percent growth in the second quarter, a period where
prices of crude oil and grains hit record highs.

But Merrill said those revenues "were more than offset" by
credit- and mortgage-related losses.

Merrill posted a much larger-than-expected $4.89 billion
quarterly loss on Thursday. [ID:nN17199614]

JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N), another Wall Street bank
which posted second-quarter results Thursday, indicated it was
being cautious in ramping up its commodities trading business.

JPMorgan said its average daily trading value-at-risk for
commodities stood at $31 million for the three months ended
June 30, meaning that the bank's maximum losses on 99 percent
of trading days was $31 million, down from $40 million in the
same quarter last year.

JPMorgan, which saw a 50 percent drop in second-quarter
earnings, told Reuters in May that it plans to venture into
physical crude oil by end of this year. But the bank's latest
commodities VaR suggests it could be moving more cautiously
after recent record fluctuations in oil prices, analysts said.
(Reporting by Barani Krishnan; Editing by Lincoln Feast)