09:06 AM EDT, 05/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined pre-bell Monday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) 1% lower recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 1.9% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.4% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 2.3% at $56.96 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 1.9% to $60.10 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 0.1% higher at $3.64 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Shell (SHEL) has been discussing with advisers to assess a potential acquisition of BP (BP) in recent weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. BP shares advanced more than 3%, while Shell shares were down more than 1% premarket.