Exxon Mobil said on 7 July that lower crude and natural-gas prices are likely to cut its second-quarter earnings by about $1.5 billion compared with the previous three months. The oil major pointed to an 11% sequential slide in Brent crude to an average $66.71 a barrel and a roughly 9% drop in U.S. gas prices, trends it blamed partly on increased OPEC+ output. Exxon booked $7.71 billion of profit in the first quarter. The Irving, Texas-based company plans to release full second-quarter results on 1 Aug. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expect earnings of $1.53 a share.