08:52 AM EDT, 04/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower premarket Friday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) declining 0.9%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 3.8%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.1% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 3.7% to $91.19 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil declined 3.1% to $96.27 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 1.4% higher at $2.69 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Shell (SHEL) shares fell 1.6% premarket after gaining 1.9% in the previous close. BNP Paribas downgraded the company to neutral from outperform, and lifted its price target to $101 from $81.