Glencore commodity trading earnings slump in 2011

Glencore lost money on agricultural commodities in 2011 by trading volatile cotton markets and saw the profitability of trading metals and oil remaining weak or declining, the commodities giant said on Tuesday. Glencore, which rivals Vitol for the position of the world's largest trader by revenues, announced on Tuesday a takeover of miner Xstrata, while its results revealed that the profitability of its trading operations had sharply declined in 2011.

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