Overview
- BP, which issued a trading update Tuesday, forecast an exceptional oil trading result for the first quarter.
- Management expects net debt to end Q1 at $25–27 billion because higher-priced inventories and customer receivables soaked up $4–7 billion of working capital.
- Refining margins are set to lift earnings by an extra $100–200 million in Q1, while upstream oil and gas output is seen broadly flat from the prior quarter.
- Brent crude averaged $81.13 a barrel in Q1 after spiking near $118, and prices slipped back below $100 as Reuters reported talks could resume in Islamabad and President Trump said Iran wants a deal.
- The U.S. began a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a chokepoint that carries a large share of global oil exports, which helped fuel the volatility now benefiting trading desks and raising fuel costs for households.