09:06 AM EST, 02/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks advanced premarket Wednesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) 0.2% higher recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 1.2% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 4% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.1% at $72.61 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.8% to $76.48 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 4.9% higher at $4.20 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

BP (BP) is considering a potential sale of its lubricants business, Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar with the matter. BP shares were down more than 1.2% pre-bell.