In a big day for earnings releases, European majors Shell and Total reported on Thursday surprise profits for the second quarter, thanks to strong oil trading business when prices were highly volatile. Royal Dutch Shell ( NYSE: RDS.A ) reported adjusted earnings of US$638 million , a whopping 82-percent plunge compared to the earnings for the second quarter of 2019, but well above analyst expectations for a loss, thanks to “very strong crude and oil products trading.” On a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis – Shell’s proxy for net profit – the group reported a loss of US$18.377 billion attributable to shareholders, due to an impairment charge of US$16.8 billion post-tax as it revised its price assumptions and the market fundamentals. The charge was at the lower end of the range that Shell provided a month ago. France’s Total ( NYSE: TOT ) also booked an adjusted profit […]