03:22 PM EDT, 05/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks fell late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index down 0.7% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) shedding 0.9%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index rose 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index dropped 1.6%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 1.1% to $61.53 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 0.8% to $64.58 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures tumbled 5.7% to $3.20 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, BP's (BP) Castrol lubricant unit is receiving interest from energy company Reliance Industrials as well as from buyout firms such as Apollo Global Management (APO) and Lone Star Funds, Bloomberg reported. BP shares were down 0.4%.