Over the past year, investment banks such as JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank have been scaling back their commitments in commodities. However, this has not stopped a range of commodity trading houses and physical producers getting in on the action.

“Switzerland-based commodity trading house, Vitol , entered the coal market in 2006 and traded an increasing amount of coal every year since, from 6 million tonnes in 2006 to 30Mt in 2013”, a spokesman for the company said.

Gunvor, another Switzerland-based commodity trader, has also been increasing its presence in coal.

It began trading in 2009 and began investing in coal in 2011. The firm has mining interests in Indonesia, the US and South Africa.

Similarly, Glencore Xstrata’s production rose by 4% during 2013, according to its recent production report.

Market observers believe that as financially savvy commodity traders move in, traditional producers may be forced to revisit their market models.