(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp reported a
better-than-expected 53 percent increase in quarterly profit, helped by a lower
tax rate and an improving world economy that sparked higher demand for fuel and
chemicals.
The Irving, Texas-based company's exploration and production results were
also lifted by higher oil prices, which climbed 12 percent from a year earlier
to average around $85 per barrel in the fourth quarter.
Exxon reported a fourth-quarter profit of $9.25 billion, or $1.85 per
share, compared with $6.05 billion, or $1.27 per share in the same quarter a
year earlier.
Shares of Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, rose 1
percent in premarket trading to $79.81, up from Friday's New York Stock Exchange
close of $78.99.
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