Exxon Mobil shares inch up on Thursday, company fined by the US Treasury over violations of Russia sanctions

According to a July 20th statement by the US Treasury Department, a $2-million fine has been imposed on Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) in regard to violations of Russia sanctions back in May 2014.

Exxon Mobil shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on Thursday. The stock inched up 0.01% ($0.01) to $80.86, after touching an intraday high at $81.49, or a price level not seen since July 12th ($81.52). In the week ended on July 16th the shares of the energy company added 1.32% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first gain in the past four weeks, but yet, it has been the smallest increase since the week ended on May 14th. The stock has neutralized earlier losses and is now up 0.16% so far during the current month, following a 0.29% surge in June. The latter has been the first gain out of three months. For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed energy giant gained 15.79%.

According to a publication on the website of the US Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control, within the period May 14th-May 23rd 2014 the executives of Exxons subsidiaries in the United States signed 8 documents with Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft, which is the largest oil producer in the Russian Federation. Sechin had been put on United States blacklist a few weeks earlier.

The US Treasury said that Exxon Mobil had not voluntarily self-disclosed the violations “and that the violations constitute an egregious case”.

In a response, the energy company underscored its full compliance with the 2014 sanctions guidelines released by the Obama administration, which allowed ongoing oil and gas business dealings with Rosneft. On the other hand, according to Exxon, personal deals with Igor Sechin were prohibited.

The US Treasury “is trying to retroactively enforce a new interpretation of an executive order that is inconsistent with the explicit and unambiguous guidance from the White House and Treasury issued before the relevant conduct and still publicly available today”, Alan Jeffers, a spokesperson for Exxon Mobil, said in a statement, cited by Reuters.

According to CNN Money, the 23 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Exxon Mobil’s stock price, have a median target of $83.00, with a high estimate of $100.00 and a low estimate of $70.00. The median estimate is a 2.65% surge compared to the closing price of $80.86 on July 20th.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 27 surveyed investment analysts had rated Exxon Mobil’s stock as “Hold”, while 7 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 6 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Exxon Mobil stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $80.93
R2 – $81.00
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $81.06
R4 (Long Breakout) – $81.27
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $81.50
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $81.60

S1 – $80.79
S2 – $80.72
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $80.66
S4 (Short Breakout) – $80.45
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $80.22
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $80.12

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $80.92
R1 – $81.88
R2 – $82.48
R3 – $83.44
R4 – $84.40

S1 – $80.32
S2 – $79.36
S3 – $78.76
S4 – $78.16