01:29 PM EDT, 06/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.6% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) climbing 2.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 0.8% increase, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was up 0.5%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 2.2 million barrels in the week ended June 14 following an increase of 4.1 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 2.5 million barrels after a 3.7-million-barrel increase in the previous week, a smaller drop than the 2.8-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:45 am ET.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 0.9% to $82.31 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 0.8% to $85.75 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures tumbled 5.2% to $2.76 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Clean Energy Fuels ( CLNE ) shares spiked 4.2% after it announced new deals with several municipalities.