EXXON: PROFIT HIGHER

Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that hands down beat Wall Street's expectations as a bitterly cold winter throughout much of the United States boosted natural gas prices.

The past winter, which affected much of the U.S. in January and February, pushed Exxon Mobil's average U.S. natural gas sale price up 49 percent, helping offset a dip in global production.

Prices for natural gas rose globally as well, even as the price the company receives for its crude oil slipped both in the U.S. and internationally.