How much am I worth? Senior commodities trader, large firm

A panel of specialist headhunters give their assessment of typical London pay packages: Senior commodities trader, large firm: salary 60,000-80,000 depending on firm and level of seniority, bonus probably not more than 50% of salary

With prices of some of the most commonly traded commodities - such as coffee and some metals - at or near rock bottom, many traders at all levels of experience have less work to do than they would like.

Simon Hughes, commodities specialist at Marshall Warburton, says: "To be honest, most commodities have been in recession for years now and there seems to be little immediate prospect of a recovery."

Most commodities traders still in the business have grown accustomed to hanging on to their jobs by their fingertips, he suggests.

The recent annual gathering of the London Metal Exchange felt more like a wake than a celebration, according to one participant, who estimated that the event - at a West End of London hotel - attracted about a quarter of the turnout of 10 years ago.

A far cry indeed from the 1980s heyday when being a commodities trader was a sure way to earn big money fast.

'Volumes are down across the board with coffee bumping along at an all time low," says Hughes, who believes the only rays of light in softs are cocoa - due to unrest in Ivory Coast and a big position being built up by a London based trading house - and sugar, whose price has recently shown some signs of recovery.

Part of the reason for the low turnover is that closer ties have been formed between producers and end-users, thus undermining the middleman role.

However on the positive side, salaries are not being driven down as low as they might be.

Colleen Quilty, principal consultant in commodities at Alexander Mann Global Markets, says:.

"Despite the current oversupply of candidates across a range of commodities, we are not seeing salaries, nor first year guarantees, being driven down for the more experienced candidates.

"Teams are tending to be leaner but with higher levels of expertise."

So what does this mean salary-wise? Hughes says that traders with 5 years or more trading experience and a good track record can command salaries in excess of 80,000, with bonus based on their desk's performance. But typically in the current market, a salary of 60-70,000 is more usual.

A total package of 150,000 is not unheard of, but is unusual, particularly in softs. Those trading commodity futures can expect a higher salary due to higher volumes (and thus potential profits) -but the potential losses are also higher.

Though it is highly unlikely that either the metals market or the softs market will return to the activity levels of the 80's and 90's, things could pick up.

Those close to the market say there are rumours that hedge funds are showing renewed interest in the commodity markets.

Such developments could yet be conferred on commodity trader salaries, while some of those on extended gardening leave could even find themselves exchanging their shovels for a computer terminal.

Contributors include Alexander Mann Global Markets and Marshall Warburton