09:06 AM EST, 01/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined premarket Wednesday, with The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.4%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 0.3% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 3.6% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 0.3% higher at $74.48 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.2% to reach $77.20 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 3.7% at $3.58 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Shell (SHEL) shares were down more than 3% after the company said it expects weaker Q4 oil and gas trading results compared with the prior quarter due to lower liquefied natural gas production and weaker trading performance.