London, May 19, 2026, 11:02 BST
- BP shares edged up in London Tuesday, adding to Monday’s 2.7% rise.
- Oil prices swung as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut and traders watched Iran-war talks.
- The BP union dispute at the Whiting, Indiana refinery is still unresolved.
BP shares traded up in London on Tuesday, keeping most of gains from Monday’s rally tied to oil prices. Investors are looking at steady energy prices, while waiting for the labor dispute at BP’s Whiting refinery in Indiana to get resolved.
BP traded at 568.30 pence in London, up a little from its last close at 567.10 pence. The shares swung between 564.80 pence and 571.60 pence on the day, Investing.com data showed. Hargreaves Lansdown was quoting a sell price at 567.50 pence and a buy price at 567.70 pence. The FTSE 100 was up 0.48%. Investing
BP is behaving less like a typical oil major and more as a way to track the Middle East supply shock right now. Brent crude dropped 1.5% to $110.37 a barrel by 0825 GMT after U.S. President Donald Trump said he put a hold on a planned attack on Iran, saying talks would go on. Reuters
London markets traded normal hours. The London Stock Exchange runs from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and says its next scheduled closure will be Monday, May 25, 2026, for a bank holiday. Tradinghours
BP closed up 2.7% at £5.67 on Monday, ahead of the FTSE 100’s 1.26% gain, MarketWatch data showed. Shell gained 2.97% to finish at £32.90, also on Monday. The move in crude prices lifted European energy stocks, not just BP. MarketWatch
FTSE 100 closed up 1.3% at 10,323.8 on Monday, Reuters said, as rising crude supported energy shares. The energy sector jumped 2.9%. Mid-cap stocks lagged, with traders pointing to inflation worries and political uncertainty in the UK. Reuters
Oil prices are still tracking headlines. “We continue to jump from one news cycle to the next,” Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank told Reuters. He said there were no big signals yet that the war was close to ending. Reuters
BP benefits when oil and refining prices climb, but the upside isn’t always straightforward. The company said Brent Dated has averaged $122.32 a barrel so far this quarter through April 22. BP’s Refining Indicator Margin reached $25.50 a barrel, up from $16.90 in the previous quarter. The company warned that real margins might differ from that indicator. bp global
BP had a strong start to the year, posting underlying replacement-cost profit of $3.2 billion for the first quarter. That’s more than double the $1.5 billion from the previous quarter. CEO Meg O’Neill said the company is “strengthening the balance sheet and continuing to accelerate delivery.” bp global
Operational worries linger. BP and union officials did not make a breakthrough on Monday over the 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery—biggest in the U.S. Midwest—keeping about 800 workers locked out since March 19. BP said it would keep talking if the lockout stays. Reuters
USW Local 7-1 President Eric Schultz said the company was putting pressure on workers with “mortgage payments, grocery bills, health care worries, and family pressure.” The union has flagged issues tied to job cuts, pay, management rights, seniority, and how long the new deal would last. Reuters
BP investors are facing two main risks right now. If a diplomatic deal opens the Strait of Hormuz, oil could drop and pressure energy stocks. But a drawn-out refinery standoff or any problems at Whiting could limit gains from strong fuel margins. BP has kept the site going with contract staff during the lockout. Reuters
BP shares are trading close to the top of a choppy 12 months. According to Investing.com, BP’s 52-week range sits between 351.20 pence and 609.40 pence. Tuesday’s price is under the March peak, but it’s still way above the lows from last year. Investing
