03:35 PM EDT, 05/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.4% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) climbing 2.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index popped 3.5%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.3%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 3.2% to $59.93 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 2.9% to $62.87 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 0.6% lower at $3.60 per 1 million BTU.

US natural gas stocks rose by 104 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 2, above the 100 billion increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 107 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

In corporate news, Ormat Technologies ( ORA ) shares rose 2.1% after it reported Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue above consensus.