The first quarter results of British multinational oil and gas company BP’ found support due to sharp fluctuations in oil prices during the Iran war that began on 28 February 2026’.
The company said its base refurbishment cost profit more than doubled in the first three months of 2026’, reaching $3.2 billion (€2.7 billion).
The company said in a statement that the base RC profit for the “ Quadrant was $3.2 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in the previous quarter. “2025Compared to the fourth quarter of ’, the underlying result reflects an outstanding oil trade contribution and stronger midstream performance.”
BP’'s oil trading operation made strong profits due to the intensification of turbulence in the energy market during the Iran war.
Brent crude oil prices rose from just over $70 a barrel in early February to over $120 a barrel in late March and settled at around $110 a barrel in April.
Oil production and operations remained stable compared to the previous quarter, while crude oil production remained resilient at about 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The company also highlighted its presence in the Middle East’, with daily production of approximately 411,000 barrels of oil equivalent in the region. This includes operations in Abu Dhabi, Oman and Iraq’.
BP’'s share price in Europe’ in the afternoon trades %Increased by more than 2’.
Barclays’ gains rise as trade compensates for credit losses
At the same time, British bank Barclays reported steady growth in the first quarter as trade fluctuations linked to the Iran war increased revenue, but concerns over its credit portfolio stifled sentiment.
Shares EuropeIn afternoon transactions at ’ %It fell around 2.
The Total Income %Increased by 6 to £8.2 billion ’a (€9.5 billion), while pre-tax profit rose from £2.7 billion ’ (€3.1 billion) the previous year to £2.8 billion ’ (€3.2 billion).
However, the main measure of profitability, the return on tangible equity (RoTE), was last year's %the 14.0 level .5’e down.
Increased credit losses offset some of the strong performance. Barclays, UK, charged a fee of £228 million (€264 million) in connection with the collapse of mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions’ (MFS) in ’.
CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said the bank would reduce complex loans and reduce the risk to high-leverage companies following the impact from MFS’.
In a statement, he emphasized the power of the investment bank, saying that growth is due to broad-based performance across the business. Revenue here exceeded £4 billion ’ (€4.6 billion) for the first time in the quarter, backed by strong trade and advisory activities.
Quilter Cheviot financial analyst Will Howlett said the performance was due to stock trading amid rising volatility since the start of the Iran war. This includes investment banking fees. In addition to an increase of ’, the annual %On a 16 or US dollar basis %He stated that it led to a growth of 23’.
Barclays also announced a £500 million (€580 million) share buyback, with total buybacks reaching £1.5 billion (€1.74 billion) this year. The bank reiterated its financial goals, citing its strong and supportive capital position.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell’in, described this quarter as another spectacular performance ’ for Barclays“in investment bank, potentially pointing to the strongest quarterly profit of this decade.
But investors are currently assessing whether recent credit losses are isolated or point to weaker credit standards, he added.
