Glencore-Xstrata deal put off again

The merger between the commodities giants Glencore and Xstrata is set to rumble on for at least another month, as the completion date was pushed back because of investigations in China.

China's commerce ministry has been examining the £56bn deal for months, but approval has yet to be granted. The Swiss commodities trader Glencore said it had held constructive discussions with Chinese officials but did not think approval would be granted by the 16 April deadline. It pushed the merger completion date back to 2 May.