Investment banks’ income from commodities rose by more than 50% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2011, providing a windfall for those firms which invested heavily in the sector last year.

Commodities revenues at the 10 largest investment banks globally jumped to $2.17bn in the three months to March this year, compared to $1.4bn for the same period in 2010, according to a report by analytics firm Coalition, an increase of 55%.