| Private investors and hedge funds seeking new ways to gain exposure to commodities may provide a lifeline to trading houses desperate for the short-term liquidity that banks used to offer. European banks have cut their lending in commodity trade finance, the $1.5 trillion-a-year business of financing oil shipments or copper deliveries, ahead of Basel III restrictions aimed at reducing systemic risk after the 2008 financial crisis.
Lending cuts coincide with traders' growing need for funding due to high commodity prices, especially for oil, where a single shipment can cost more than $200 million at current Brent crude prices...........................................Full Article: Source
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