Shell is reporting a sharp rise in quarterly profits, driven by a widening gap between wholesale crude costs and retail gasoline prices.
The supermajor’s financial performance highlights how energy firms are capitalizing on persistent consumer fuel costs even as benchmark oil prices have retreated from their recent peaks.
Brent crude has pulled back from the $100-a-barrel threshold it breached earlier in the month, marking a cooling in the immediate geopolitical risk premium.
Brent crude has pulled back from the $100-a-barrel threshold it breached earlier in the month, marking a cooling in the immediate geopolitical risk premium.
However, this wholesale softening has not yet translated into lower prices at the pump, allowing refiners to maintain elevated margins.
The divergence between upstream commodity costs and downstream retail pricing is currently the primary driver of earnings strength for US and European oil majors.
This profit surge comes as US oil companies are on track to report their strongest quarterly results in years.