03:25 PM EDT, 07/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.8% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 0.9%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index climbed 1.7%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index was shedding 1.1%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.7% to $66.89 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 2.6% to $70.22 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 3.1% lower at $3.01 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Venture Global ( VG ) shares were rising 4.7% after it said Monday it has made a final investment decision and closed a $15.1 billion project financing for the first phase of its third project Venture Global CP2 LNG, together with the associated CP Express Pipeline.