09:07 AM EDT, 08/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were leaning lower premarket Thursday, with The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.1%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was marginally lower and The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 0.9%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 0.4% higher at $62.93 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.3% to reach $67.04 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.4% at $2.79 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) said it signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement with Sempra's ( SRE ) Sempra Infrastructure unit to buy 4 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas from the latter's Port Arthur LNG phase 2 project under development in Jefferson County, Texas. Sempra's ( SRE ) shares were up more than 1% pre-bell.