JPMorgan Chase & Co will begin trading physical oil by year-end, increasing its exposure in a market that could rise to $200 a barrel, the bank's global head of commodities said on Wednesday.

The bank plans to expand in commodities and energy trading, Blythe Masters said, despite expectations of job cuts in other areas as it prepares to take on staff from Bear Stearns at the same time it deals with turbulent financial markets.

"We will start trading in physical oil and refined products by the end of this year," she told Reuters in an interview.

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JPMorgan will join a growing list of investment banks from Goldman Sachs to Barclays Capital seeking to boost profits on their big derivatives trading desks by gaining a foothold in physical markets.

The third-largest U.S. bank added 50 people to its commodities and energy trading and investment team last year and is on track to hire a similar number this year, taking the strength of the total team globally to 450, Masters said.

Earlier this month, it hired former Goldman Sachs banker Oral Dawe as managing director and CEO of its Asia Pacific commodities group, in addition to hiring more than a dozen traders in Asia recently to oversee its expansion in energy and metals.

And with oil prices surging more than 30 percent this year to a record near $127 this week, Masters said the bank would look at more ways to boost its presence in energy markets.

"Oil rising to $200? It could happen. This year? You could see it, although it would take a further shock to expectations," she said.

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