Investors fear there'll be no bright post-Covid dawn for oil majors

The industry may have put the lows of summer behind it, but this week will show that previous highs are now unreachable

The oil market may have heaved itself out of the darkness of Black April" but investors are far from convinced that major oil companies will walk away unscathed from the coronavirus pandemic.

Royal Dutch Shell and BP will both face investors this week with quarterly financial results that will deliver profits well below those achieved a year ago, against a backdrop of tumbling share prices and rising Covid infections across major economies.