Troubled Noble Group says goodbye to global oil trading

London

NOBLE Group is closing down its London oil desk and winding down its Asia oil operations, sources familiar with the matter said, as heavy losses and high debt force what was once Asia's biggest commodities trader to restructure.

The closures follow the sale of its larger US oil trading business to Vitol, announced in October, and a nine-month loss of some US$3 billion reported in November.