The three-month saga that is the Gulf oil spill isn’t as bad now, but it’s not close to being over. Once BP stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf, some investors showed a bit of optimism by buying shares of the company on both the FTSE and NYSE. However, it’s not all roses from here.

On Tuesday, shares of BP closed at 387.45 on the FTSE and 35.56 on the NYSE—both down very slightly, but still well off their 52-week highs of 658.20 and 62.38 respectively.

While the desire to get in at the bottom might be propelling some investors to buy shares of BP, there’s still a lot of trouble on the horizon and the company’s stock on both exchanges has the potential for more downside. Read the full story

Europes 2nd biggest oil company BP Plc has said their profit fell 53% on lower energy prices.  They have said that there is “little evidence” of a recovery.

Their 2nd quarter net income has fallen to $4.39 billion, or 23.16cents a share, from $9.36 billion, or 49.23cents, in the earlier period.

CEO Tony Hayward of BP said that estimated cost cuts would exceed an earlier target as it increased production to more that 4,000,000 barrels a day.   There has been “significant falls” in the first half and the recovery will be “long and drawn out” as the demand stabilizes said Tony.

An analyst from Panmure Gordon and Co recently said in an interview “I have serious concerns about the operating environment and that the oil price may come under pressure.”

Later this week BP’s rivals will be releasing their results which are Spains Repsol YPF, Total SA of France, Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

U.S oil futures averaged $59.79 a barrel in the 2nd quarter, 52% lower than a year earlier, while gas futures slumped 67%.  NY oil futures have rebounded 53% since the beginning of 2009 and traded at $68.44 today.