LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell on
Wednesday said it will boost its planned shareholder returns
beginning in the second quarter after a sharp rise in oil and
gas prices helped it reduce debt.
In a trading statement ahead of its quarterly results, the
Anglo-Dutch company said the acceleration of its planned
distribution policy was due to "strong operational and financial
delivery, combined with an improved macroeconomic outlook."
As a result, Shell will retire its $65 billion net debt
target, it said.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by Louise Heavens)