03:45 PM EDT, 08/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks rose late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index gaining 0.7% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 0.5%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index increased 0.3%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.6%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $64.25 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent crude contract added 0.3% to $67.63 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 2.3% to $2.95 per 1 million BTU.

US natural gas stocks rose by 18 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, below the 26 billion gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 13 billion in the previous week.

In corporate news, PowerBank ( SUUN ) shares rose 0.2% after it said Thursday its 3.16 MW ground-mounted solar project in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, has secured site control, allowing it to proceed to the interconnection study phase.