03:16 PM EST, 02/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.6% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) gaining 1.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index fell 0.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 0.8%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 0.8% to $69.79 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract fell 1.2% to $73.18 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 2.3% lower at $3.84 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) sold over $900 million in assets in the US Rocky Mountains to private equity firm NGP Energy Capital, Bloomberg reported. Occidental shares were fractionally lower.