The fall in group like-for-likes was in line with analyst forecasts.

The French group beat analyst forecasts with a 13% increase in sales to €10.3bn (£9.1bn) in the six months to 30 June.

The profit figure topped analyst forecasts, which peaked at $:1.50 billion, or $2.33 billion.

Either way, it's ahead of the analyst forecast.

The latest gains were driven by analyst forecasts of even better days ahead.

Profit for the current quarter will fall far short of analyst forecasts, the company said.

This fell a penny shy of analyst forecasts, and the punishment was a close of $25.125, down $1.375.

BP reported a 25 percent increase in third-quarter net profit to $2.87 billion, below analyst forecasts.

But it is possible to make an educated guess about how it will affect certain strategies that rely on analyst forecasts.

That compared with analyst forecasts of a 0.9pc fall in sales.