Exxon Mobil boosted by surge in oil prices

Oil giant, Exxon Mobil, has set a US profits record after reporting that its second-quarter earnings were $11.68 billion (£5.90 billion), which represents the highest ever profit by a US company.

The rise was due to increasing oil and natural gas prices, but the results were below analysts’ expectations and shares fell 3% as a result.

The world’s largest publicly-listed company said sales of petrol and related products fell from the year before due to reduced demand.

The company added that during the quarter, crude production fell 8% partly due to disruption in Nigeria and Venezuela.

The results beat the previous highest-ever quarterly earnings report in the US of $11.66 billion, which was set by Exxon in the last quarter of 2007.

For the first half of 2008, Exxon reported net income of $22.6 billion, up from $19.5 billion compared with the same period last year.

In the period April to June, the company introduced a new synthetic motor oil that can improve fuel efficiency in modern gasoline engines and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

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