Major oil companies’ first-quarter results have so far not been as bad as feared but volatile trading operations and a likely fall in production mean any respite could be short lived.

Europe’s big oil producers had been expected to report their worst quarterly earnings in the current downturn but instead BP, Total and Statoil have delivered share-boosting first-quarter results.

BP made a first-quarter profit of $532 million, against expectations of a $140 million loss, boosted, the company said, by refining and a strong performance from its trading unit. The same unit had a weak quarter at the end of 2015.