Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “BP’s trading arm has become a thorn in its side.
“Having warned in April of weak gas trading, the same problem has now been reported with its oil trading arm.
“The company might argue that fluctuations with the trading business are par for the course, and that its key focus is production.
“Yet the trading arm is far from insignificant as it can provide a nice sweetener to group earnings.
“Volatile energy prices are generally good for trading, and we’ve certainly seen fluctuations in oil and gas prices over the past year.
“Questions will now be asked of BP as to why the trading arm isn’t riding high.
“The market certainly seems disappointed, with the trading setback overshadowing a strong showing from its production arm.”
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