03:20 PM EDT, 04/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were easing late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index slipping 0.3% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) decreasing 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was down 0.5%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities Index gained 0.8%.

US crude stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 5.6 million barrels in the week ended April 19 following a rise of 3.4 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 6.4 million barrels after a 2.7-million-barrel gain in the previous week, compared with the 2-million-barrel rise expected in a Bloomberg survey.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.6% to $82.86 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent shed 0.4% to $88.08 a barrel. Henry Hub natural-gas futures tumbled 8.9% to $1.65 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Suncor Energy ( SU ) has raised doubts over the commencement date of the long-delayed Trans Mountain expansion project in a letter to the Canada Energy Regulator Tuesday. Suncor shares were fractionally lower.