01:39 PM EDT, 07/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index down 0.1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) shedding 0.5%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was decreasing about 1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was fractionally higher.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was easing 0.2% to $66.42 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was decreasing 0.1% to $66.43 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were shedding 0.3% to $3.51 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended July 11 following an increase of 7.3 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 3.9 million barrels after a 7.1-million-barrel gain in the previous week. Stocks in the SPR fell by 300,000 in the week after rising by 200,000 in the previous week.

In corporate news, TotalEnergies (TTE) said Wednesday its Q2 exploration and production results will be hit by lower liquids prices but will remain supported by production growth. Its shares rose 0.2%.