03:22 PM EDT, 04/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were easing late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) each decreasing 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index dropped 1.1%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index climbed 1.8%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 3.4 million barrels in the week ended April 12 following an increase of 6.4 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 2.7 million barrels after a 5.8-million-barrel gain in the previous week, a larger gain than the 1.7-million-barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:55 am ET.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil tumbled 3.1% to $82.70 a barrel, global benchmark Brent crude dropped 3% to $87.34 a barrel. Henry Hub natural-gas futures were 1.9% lower at $1.70 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Genesis Energy (GEL) on Wednesday filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission covering the potential sale of several securities from "time to time." Its shares rose 0.1%.