The head of metals and mining research at Morgan Stanley is set to join rival Barclays Capital, becoming the third highly-ranked analyst to leave the US bank in just over two months.

Ephrem Ravi has handed in his notice at Morgan Stanley, ahead of a move to Barclays Capital, according to sources familiar with the situation. At Morgan Stanley, Ravi was the lead analyst on mining giant Xstrata and newly-floated commodities firm Glencore.