Following the likes of Barclays and Deutsche Bank, JPM’s retreat marks the end of an era in which financial institutions flocked to take advantage of the commodities boom.

The all-cash deal is expected to close towards the end of the year and will propel Mercuria into the club of global commodity giants, alongside Glencore Xstrata and others.

The unit was put up for sale last year, amid rising political and regulatory pressure on banks to revert to more traditional business endeavours.

The unit is considered one of the most powerful oil and metals desks on Wall Street.

The financial institution spent five years and billions of dollars building the banking world's biggest commodity desk.

In a statement JPMorgan said it would still provide traditional banking activities in commodities markets, including financial products and the vaulting and trading of precious metals.