ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) reported on Friday a surprise first-quarter loss on the back of hefty write-downs amid the oil price plunge, posting its first quarterly loss since the 1999 merger of Exxon and Mobil. Exxon booked a loss of $610 million for the first quarter of 2020, compared to earnings of $2.4 billion for the first quarter of 2019, slipping into a quarterly loss for the first time in more than two decades, as low oil prices weighed on asset valuations. Exxon’s loss was the result of a $2.9 billion charge from identified items, reflecting non-cash inventory valuation impacts from lower commodity prices and asset impairments. At the beginning of April, the U.S. supermajor said it was making a ‘significant reduction’ to its capital expenditure (capex), slashing investments for 2020 by 30 percent, to around $23 billion, down from the previously announced capex of some $33 billion. Exxon will […]