03:17 PM EDT, 06/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 1.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index added 1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was 0.1% higher.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 3.4 million barrels in the week ended June 6, following a decrease of 3.8 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 3.6 million barrels after a 4.3-million-barrel decline in the previous week, a larger drop than the 2.6-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 4.8% to $68.08 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 4.2% to $69.70 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 0.3% lower at $3.52 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, AES ( AES ) shares rose 1.8% after it said Wednesday that it has completed construction of the Bellefield 1 project, a 1,000-megawatt solar and energy storage facility under a 15-year contract with Amazon (AMZN).