Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) doubled its first-quarter per-share profit, it said on Friday, but the results fell short of Wall Street estimates, even excluding a $3.4 billion writedown from its withdrawal from Russia.The top U.S. oil producer tripled the size of its buyback program, similar to other energy giants like TotalEnergies that are sending more cash back to shareholders. Exxon said it will repurchase up to $30 billion in shares by the end of next year, compared with its earlier estimates for $10 billion in repurchases.Exxon reported net income of $5.48 billion, or $1.28 per share, in the three months ended March 31, compared with $2.73 billion, or 64 cents per share, last year. The company’s adjusted earnings per share came to $2.07, short of the Refinitiv consensus for $2.12 a share, while revenue came in at $90.5 billion, below the $92.7 billion consensus. U.S. oil majors were hurt by price volatility in fuel markets in the quarter, according to consultancy Palissy Advisors. Heavy market volatility caused both Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon had a negative effect on downstream results due to swift changes in prices between the time when feedstock was purchased and products were sold. “The market is very volatile now,” said Anish Kapadia, energy director at Palissy. “You are also starting to see the cost of inflation” affecting companies, he said.The results included a $3.4 billion after-tax hit on the oil major’s Russia Sakhalin-1 operation, which it said it would exit on March 1, shortly after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.Exxon’s writedown follows others oil majors exiting Russia after the Ukraine invasion. BP (NYSE:BP) PLC and Shell (LON:RDSa) PLC have flagged up to $25 billion and $5 billion in writedowns from leaving their Russian businesses, respectively. Exxon has been trying to boost output in its primary development areas, the U.S. Permian basin, and in Guyana, the tiny South American nation that has seen windfall oil discoveries in recent years and where Exxon has two major offshore developments. Notably, the company’s refining division posted much weaker results from the previous quarter, with earnings of $332 million, compared with $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. The company said the sharp rise in prices ended up costing $1.3 billion of “negative timing impacts,” including $760 million in mark-to-market effects on open derivatives positions.The company said those losses will be unwound when it makes certain physical sales. Exxon’s output of crude and other liquids including bitumen and synthetic oil was 2.3 million barrels per day, a 5% drop from the previous quarter. Natural gas production fell by 1.5%.Exxon’s shares were down 1.1% to $86.25 in premarket trading. Graphic: Oil prices pump up Exxon’s results – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/lbvgnyznapq/Pasted%20image%201651230665900.png More

Losses totalled 160 million hryvnias ($5.42 million) in January-March compared with a profit of 10.9 billion hryvnias in the same period last year, it said in a statement.”The general decline in business activity and falling demand for loans and banking services will continue to have a negative impact on banks’ profitability,” it said.It said 44 out of 69 active lenders had remained profitable while the other 25 had posted losses of 6 billion hryvnias.Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine could cause the Ukrainian economy to contract by at least one third in 2022 and drive up inflation to over 20%, according to the central bank’s forecast.($1 = 29.5000 hryvnias) More

The Commerce Department said on Friday that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, surged 1.1% last month. Data for February was revised higher to show outlays advancing 0.6% instead of 0.2% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending increasing 0.7%. Part of the rise in spending was due to higher prices. Still, consumer spending is heading into the second quarter with strong momentum, which showcases the economy’s underlying strength. The data was included in the advance first-quarter gross domestic product report on Thursday, which showed the economy contracting at a 1.4% annualized rate because of a wider trade deficit. This was due to surging imports, and a slower pace of inventory accumulation relative to the fourth quarter’s robust rate.Consumer spending picked up last quarter, combining with business investment to boost domestic demand.The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index shot up 0.9% in March, the largest gain since 2005, after climbing 0.5% in February. In the 12 months through March, the PCE price index jumped 6.6%. That was the largest annual gain since 1982 and followed a 6.3% year-on-year increase in February. March, however, likely marked the peak in the PCE price index. Economists expect the increase in the annual PCE price index to start slowing in the coming months as last year’s large gains drop out of the calculation. In addition, the shift in spending back to services from goods is also seen easing pressure on supply chains.Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index rose 0.3% after a similar gain in February. The so-called core PCE price index increased 5.2% year-on-year in March. The core PCE price index accelerated 5.3% in the 12 months through February. Annual inflation by all measures has overshot the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and the U.S. central bank is expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points next Wednesday. The Fed raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points in March, and is soon likely to start trimming its asset holdings. More

BEIJING (Reuters) -China will take steps to support its economy, including embattled internet platforms, as risks grow from its COVID-19 outbreaks and conflict in Ukraine, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party said on Friday, lifting markets.The coronavirus and conflict in Ukraine have contributed to economic headwinds in a crucial year for China and President Xi Jinping, who is expected to secure a precedent-breaking third leadership term in the autumn.Private economists have said Beijing’s target for economic growth of about 5.5% this year will be hard to achieve without significant stimulus, as lockdowns and other tough curbs to battle the pandemic create havoc for supply chains.Friday’s Politburo meeting chaired by Xi said it would support COVID-hit industries and small firms, speed work on infrastructure, and stabilise transport, logistics, and supply chains, according to a statement on the central government’s website.”We will strengthen macroeconomic policy adjustments to stabilise the economy, and strive to achieve the expected economic and social development goals for the full year,” the statement quoted the Politburo as saying. Top leaders conceded that efforts to stabilise growth, employment and prices were facing new challenges.Chinese share prices surged in response to the pledges, particularly internet companies on which authorities clamped down last year, as the Politburo’s pledge to “promote the healthy development of the platform economy” bolstered hopes the worst was over.Authorities are set to have a meeting with internet majors next month, a person with knowledge of the matter said.Analysts believe more stimulus measures and some easing of property curbs will be needed to hit the government’s growth target for 2022.”While these messages are positive, the key is about the specific policies and their implementation,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.”The economy is in trouble, with second-quarter GDP growth likely turning negative (year-on-year),” he said. “A significant change of macro policy is necessary to turn the economy around.” Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, said he still expected the economy to grow 1.8% in the second quarter and 3.9% in 2022.COVID-19 JITTERSFinancial markets have been hit hard over the past two weeks by fears that lockdowns will cause severe damage for China’s economy and derail a global recovery just as many nations rebound from pandemic-led slumps.The benchmark share index jumped more than 2% on Friday, with the tech-focused STAR50 Index surging nearly 5%. Shares of Hong Kong-listed tech firms rose, with the Hang Seng Tech Index up by 10%. On Tuesday, Xi chaired a meeting that announced a big infrastructure push to boost demand, reinforcing Beijing’s reliance on big-ticket projects to spur growth.”Senior leaders called for a ‘frontloading’ of policy measures as well as increased support, confirming our view that the authorities will ensure a stable economic and political environment ahead of the 20th party congress later in the year,” ANZ analysts said in a note.”However, to attain the 5.5% target China may be borrowing from the future and incur more debt.”Beijing will also back “healthy development” of the property market, fanning hopes that some cities will relax supervision of escrow funds to help ease a liquidity crunch for developers.But the Politburo said China would stick to a controversial dynamic zero-COVID policy to stamp out diseaase outbreaks while minimising the pandemic’s economic impact. More

The central bank met after it unexpectedly cut the key rate to 17% earlier in April following an emergency rate increase to 20% days after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.Friday’s rate cut exceeded expectations for a 200-basis-point move in a Reuters poll from earlier this week. Analysts predicted Russia would need lower rates in the face of a looming economic recession following the West’s imposition of unprecedented sanctions.”If the situation develops in line with the baseline forecast, the Bank of Russia sees room for key rate reduction in 2022,” the central bank said in a statement.A Reuters poll showed earlier on Friday that the central bank was expected to slash its key rate to 10.5% by the year end as the firming rouble helps cap inflationary risks.”Rouble exchange rate dynamics will remain a meaningful factor shaping the path of inflation and inflation expectations,” the central bank said.The central bank said consumer inflation was on track to accelerate to 18-23% in 2022, far exceeding the 4% target, which could be reached in 2024. It was at 17.6% as of April 22.High inflation dents living standards and has been one of the key concerns among Russians for years.The central bank now needs to tame inflation that is near 20-year highs, while steering the economy through its steepest contraction since the years following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.Russia’s export-dependent economy will shrink 8-10% this year, the central bank’s renewed set of forecasts showed.Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina will shed more light on the bank’s forecasts and policy plans at a media briefing at 1200 GMT.    The next rate-setting meeting is scheduled for June 10. More