01:25 PM EST, 02/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropping 1.7%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index declined 1.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index eased 0.2%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose 4.3 million barrels in the week ended Friday following an increase of 8.9 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose 4.1 million after an increase of 8.7 million in the previous week, larger than the 2.3 million gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.2% to $71.68 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent dropped 1.9% to $75.51 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.7% to $3.54 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Chevron ( CVX ) plans to cut its global workforce by 15% to 20% to reduce costs. Chevron ( CVX ) shares fell 1.3%.