01:24 PM EDT, 08/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were mixed Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.4% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) easing 0.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was fractionally lower, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was shedding 0.5%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 1 following an increase of 7.9 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 3 million barrels after a 7.7-million-barrel gain in the previous week, compared with expectations for a steady reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.1% to $65.07 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was little changed at $67.61 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 1.8% higher at $3.06 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Energy Transfer ( ET ) shares rose 1.2% after it said Wednesday it approved a $5.3 billion expansion of its Transwestern natural gas pipeline to increase supply to Arizona and New Mexico.