08:49 AM EST, 01/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were steady premarket Wednesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) flat recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.4% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 1.7%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.5% at $73.44 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 0.5% to $77.11 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 1.3% at $3.43 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Schlumberger ( SLB ) and ChampionX's ( CHX ) proposed merger will be placed under a phase 1 inquiry by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, according to a Wednesday statement by the regulator. Schlumberger ( SLB ) shares were up 0.1% while ChampionX ( CHX ) shares were 1.3% lower.