Repsol, the Spanish energy group, on Friday became the latest in the industry to report a sharp drop in net profits because of weak oil and gas prices.

The company, whose upstream assets are concentrated in Latin America, said net profit for the three months to the end of March was €516m, down 57.4 per cent on the year-ago figure. It attributed this mainly to a 54 per cent decline in the average trading price of Brent crude, to $44.50 a barrel, during the period. The price of West Texas Intermediate, meanwhile, was down an average 55.7 per cent, to $43.30 a barrel. Gas prices, too, were down sharply, from an average $4.30 per 1,000 cubic feet to $2.50.