Shell has reported better than expected profits of $6.9bn (£5bn) after its oil traders reaped the benefits of soaring energy prices during the war in Iran, angering climate campaigners.

Europe’s biggest oil and gas company posted a 115% jump in first-quarter profits from the $3.2bn reported in the last three months of 2025.

The profits easily surpassed the $6.4bn forecast by City analysts, and were 24% up on the $5.6bn profit recorded in the same period a year earlier.

Shell’s chief executive, Wael Sawan, said the company’s profits were gained through its “relentless focus on operational performance in a quarter marked by unprecedented disruption in global energy markets”.

The disruption to oil and gas flows through the strait of Hormuz caused the international crude price to climb from about $61 a barrel in January to highs of $119 at the end of March, and again at the end of April.

Oil prices briefly plunged below $100 a barrel on Wednesday on hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran, although…