The BP share price will be in focus when the energy giant releases its Q2 earnings tomorrow. Will rising oil prices help BP beat market expectations?
BP plc (LON: BP) finished Friday’s trading at 289.20p, down 6.45p (-2.18%).
On Tuesday, the 3rd of August, the UK oil giant is expected to announce the trading update for the second quarter of 2021. In the three months to the end of June, BP is predicted to reveal revenue of £38.53 Billion, vs £36.49 in Q1. With Earnings per share forecast at 0.0968, down from first-quarter EPS of 0.1295p.
However, on Friday, rivals including Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron both beat the markets consensus second-quarter estimates, increasing the pressure on BP to do the same.
In the last three months, the crude oil price has improved by more than 15%, which should provide a boost to the firms upstream business. However, analysts believe this may be offset by lower production due to seasonal maintenance.
Furthermore, the share price retreated more than 3.5% in the final two days of last week. This may suggest that investors are bracing for less than stellar numbers.
Technical analysis
The daily chart shows the BP share price has recovered from the sharp decline to 275.85p in July.
However, the price has started to roll over in the last couple of days. Furthermore, the recent price action has formed a bear flag which is often considered a bearish continuation pattern.
The bottom edge of the rising channel is seen at 286.50p, which coincidently aligns with a series of lows in March. This should be considered the first support level. A failure to maintain 286.50p brings the 200-day moving average at 280.83p into view.
Although a steeper decline would target the 2021 low at 244p.
Above the market, resistance is seen at the top of the rising parallel channel at 300p. Followed by the 100 and 50 DMA’s at 306.75p and 310.80p, respectively.
A clearance of 310.80p would target the 2021 high of 336.95p.
Until tomorrow’s data, a BP share price prediction carries little weight. However, we will soon know if BP will mirror its rivals or buck the positive second-quarter reporting trend.
BP Share price chart
