Sharp oil price drop sinks BP profits

LONDON — BP says firstquarter profit fell 26 per cent in the wake of the sharp drop in oil prices.

The company said Tuesday that net income for the quarter was $2.6 billion US, compared with $3.5 billion in the same period last year. The price of Brent crude, the benchmark for North Sea oil, averaged $54 a barrel in the first quarter, half the level of a year earlier.