01:40 PM EDT, 09/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) each rising about 1.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index climbed 2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was rising 1%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 0.7% to $68.17 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 0.5% to $71.96 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 5.7% to $2.91 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Duke Energy ( DUK ) said it's continuing to restore power to Florida customers following outages due to Hurricane Helene. Duke shares were up 0.6%.