03:41 PM EDT, 10/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks fell late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 1.3% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) decreasing 1.6%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index dropped 1.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index dropped 0.7%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.3% to $57.51 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent fell 1.3% to $61.10 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures dropped 2.9% to $2.93 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 4.3 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a rise of 4 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks increased by 3.5 million after a gain of 3.7 million in the previous week, compared with a drop of 1.2 million expected in a Bloomberg survey.

US natural gas stocks rose by 80 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, below the 81 billion increase expected in a Bloomberg survey, and following the gain of 80 billion in the previous week.

In corporate news, Halliburton ( HAL ) executed the first operation using its enhanced remotely operated control system and Optime tubing hanger orientation system in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, in a collaboration with Norway's Aker BP. Halliburton ( HAL ) shares fell 3.2%.