03:30 PM EST, 02/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropping 2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index slumped 3.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index eased 0.5%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.7% to $70.53 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent fell 0.5% to $74.23 a barrel.

US natural gas stocks fell 174 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, below the decrease of 171 billion expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a drop of 321 billion in the previous week.

Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.8% to $3.39 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, MDU Resources ( MDU ) shares fell 5.8% after a Q4 revenue miss.