British oil giant BP announced Tuesday that its profits for the first quarter of 2009 have fallen by 62 percent. In a statement on its Web site, BP said its replacement cost profit — an oil industry measure of profitability — was $2.4 billion, compared with $6.2 billion a year ago. The decline was blamed on falling oil prices, which have dropped to around $41 a barrel from July’s record high of $147 a barrel.
