09:01 AM EDT, 08/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing pre-bell Thursday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) recently up 0.5%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.4% higher and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 0.3%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.7% at $77.48 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.6% to $80.26 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 0.1% at $2.22 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Golar LNG (GLNG) shares were up 1.7% recently after the company reported a Q2 net income of $25.9 million, swinging from a net loss of $4.5 million a year earlier.