03:24 PM EDT, 03/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks rose late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index increasing 0.3% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index gained 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index fell 1.4%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.9% to $81.21 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1.5% to $85.31 a barrel.

US natural gas stocks fell by 9 billion cubic feet in the week ended March 8, a larger drop than the 2 billion cubic feet decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a decrease of 40 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 6% to $1.76 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Chevron's ( CVX ) cost for boosting oil production at Kazakhstan's Tengiz field increased by $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Chevron ( CVX ) shares rose 0.5%.