May 18, 2013
LONDON (AP) -- Shares in BP PLC are falling sharply at the start of trading in London after a huge sell-off in New York amid fears about the rising costs facing the company over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The stock is trading down at 9.3 percent at 355 pence ($5.18) in
early trade.
Investors are worried about the payment of the company's planned dividends and its ability to pay for the disaster as U.S. political pressure increases for greater compensation.
BP had attempted to reassure investors before the market opened, saying it is in a strong financial position and it saw no reason to justify the sell-off in the U.S., where shares tumbled to their lowest level in a decade on Wednesday.
