(Oct 2): Glencore plc expects its commodity-trading profits to exceed US$5 billion (RM20.4 billion) this year, putting it on track for one of the best results in its history.

The bumper haul has primarily been driven by “the materially reshaped crude oil, refined products, gas and freight markets”, the trading house said in a statement on Friday. 

A US$5 billion profit would be Glencore’s best result since its 2022 record, when energy markets were rocked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In 2026, traders are again reaping huge earnings as the Iran war fuels wild energy price swings and major dislocations between regional markets. Freight costs have also surged on the back of disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz, while rising copper and coal prices have been an additional boon to Glencore.

Shares in the London-listed trader and miner jumped as much as 2.8%, reflecting the near-term forecast as well as higher long-term pre-tax earnings guidance. From 2027, Glencore expects the marketing division to bring in about US$2.8 billion to US$4.2 billion annually.

The company has consistently beaten its long-term profit targets in recent years, fuelled mainly by “movements in commodity prices, inflation, the commercial opportunity set and our overall business volumes and scale”, it said. In August, it reported overall core earnings of US$10.1 billion for the first half, 86% higher than a year earlier.

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