Goldman Sachs commodities risk up slightly on quarter

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's commodities trading risk rose slightly in the third quarter from the previous three months, company results showed on Tuesday.

The Wall Street investment bank said its Value-at-Risk (VaR) in commodities averaged $22 million per day in the three months to September, versus the $20 million averaged in the second quarter and the $25 million of 2011's third quarter.

VaR is an important consideration for investment banks when making trading and hedging decisions for an asset class.

In Goldman Sachs' case, its VaR readings are based on a 95 percent confidence level of the potential loss it could make in trading commodities and other assets over a one-day time horizon.

Goldman Sachs' rival, JPMorgan Chase & Co, has also reported a commodities VaR with little change for the third quarter.