As if possessing the relatively niche talents of Openlink knowledge wasn’t lucrative enough, energy trading houses are now bidding for commodities techies against the investment banks, which is driving daily rates in this primarily contractor-led market even higher.

Investment banks are still steadily adding commodities techies to their ranks. Recruiters tell us that Deutsche Bank intends to increase headcount by 40% in this area, and the likes of Credit Suisse, Goldman and BarCap are still recruiting. JPMorgan is also thought to be hiring integration specialists following its purchase of RBS Sempra in February.

There’s a limited talent pool in the commodities space, with knowledge of Openlink and other specialist third-party trading platforms largely a prerequisite. Energy trading houses – such as Eon, RWE, Glencore and EDF – are also competing for techies in this space, according to Oliver Gibbons, director of the technology division at Twenty Recruitment Group.

“With contract business analysts now being able to command around 700 per day – a 40% rise on 2008 rates, the energy trading floors of the investment banks may soon be looking at a talent shortage of their own,” he says.

One recruiter specializing in the energy IT space, tells us that rates for developers are pushing 750 a day, while project managers can expect a minimum of 800 a day.

But with contractor rates being driven ever-higher – and competition for talent tough – investment banks are keen to take on commodities techies on a permanent basis, suggests Paul Bennie, director of IT in finance headhunters Bennie MacLean.

“There are a lot of good contractors with Openlink, but also many mediocre and quite a few bad ones. Whilst banks would prefer to take on perm staff with these skills they still end up paying over the odds for contractors because of their specific product knowledge,” he says.

So are the energy trading houses the more attractive option for contractors?

“The energy trading houses can compete with the investment banks on salary and they offer what some perceive as a more attractive working environment, in much the same way as the hedge funds competed for talent a few years ago,” says Bennie.

However, the investment banks have one edge over the energy trading houses if the techie in question has ambitions to stay in the City. Many trading houses are either in out-of-the-way locations in the UK, or in Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands or Switzerland.