08:58 AM EDT, 04/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining pre-bell Thursday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.2% recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.3% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 1.3%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.3% at $83.46 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil lost 0.5% to $86.89 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 3.1% at $1.77 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) rose by 1% after it reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.34 per share, up from $0.30 a year earlier.