03:14 PM EST, 02/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index rose 1.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 1.3%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 8.9 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 31 following an increase of 3.7 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 8.7 million barrels after a 3.5-million-barrel gain in the previous week, a larger gain than the 1.9-million-barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.2% to $71.10 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract dropped 2% to $74.66 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 3.3% to $3.36 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Spire (SR) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $1.34 per diluted share, down from $1.47 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.42. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.40 to $4.60. The shares were rising 0.5%.