Dow Chemical profit jumps 31 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co <DOW.N> said its quarterly profit jumped 34 percent, helped largely by surging plastic sales.

For the first quarter, the largest U.S. chemical maker posted net income of $625 million, or 54 cents per share, compared with $466 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 10 percent to $14.73 billion.

Dow, like other chemical makers, has benefited from the confluence of cheap North American shale natural gas and rising consumer demand.

Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> is the second-largest United States-based chemical maker.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)