(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp's quarterly profit rose a better-than-expected 69 percent as the world's largest publicly traded oil company benefited from higher crude prices and improved earnings in its chemical and refining businesses.
In the first quarter, the average U.S. oil price was $95 per barrel, about 20 percent higher than a year earlier, a factor that has lifted earnings at most oil companies.
Since then, prices have climbed above $100 per barrel in a rally fueled by improved world demand for fuel and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
"It looks like chemical was really strong," Phil Weiss, oil analyst at Argus Research, said. "And production came in on the higher side relative to my expectations, especially gas."
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