Shell Rides Iran War Volatility to Record Earnings

Shell's half-year earnings skyrocketed to £12.6 billion, a staggering 70% increase from last year, thanks to its best quarterly performance in four years.

The surge is largely due to the company's oil traders capitalizing on the highly volatile cost of crude, with Brent crude prices surging as high as $120 per barrel at one stage before dropping back down.

Shell's chemicals and products unit, which includes its oil trading business, saw underlying earnings jump to $2.88 billion, a significant increase from $118 million last year.