Exxon signals lower oil, gas prices could hit second-quarter profit

By Sheila Dang

HOUSTON, July 7 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil XOM.N signaled on Monday that lower oil and gas prices could cut its second-quarter earnings by about $1.5 billion from the previous quarter's level.

The earnings snapshot from the largest U.S. oil producer is closely watched for clues on how the broader oil sector will fare when companies begin releasing quarterly results in a few weeks.

Benchmark Brent crude prices LCOc1 averaged $66.71 per barrel during the April to June quarter, an 11% decline from the previous quarter, as more crude supply from the OPEC+ group of producers weighed on prices. U.S. natural gas prices NGc1 declined 9% from the first quarter.

Exxon said in the regulatory filing that it will release the final quarterly results on Aug. 1.

Wall Street expects Exxon to report adjusted earnings of $1.53 per share for the second quarter, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

The company had posted $6.8 billion in upstream earnings for the first quarter. Its total profit in that quarter was $7.71 billion.