03:49 PM EDT, 06/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) dropping 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index lost 2.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index shed 1.5%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.1% to $76.11 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent eased 0.1% to $78.92 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 2.2% to $3.17 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, the US, Iran and mediators are in talks over holding the signing of the memorandum of understanding remotely as early as Wednesday, instead of in-person on Friday, Axios reported. A diplomat from one of the mediating countries told Axios that discussions to speed up the deal are intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz sooner, since the parties agreed that the strait's opening and the lifting of the US blockade would only take effect after the formal signing.

Separately, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 17.2 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 15.2 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 8.3 million after a decline of 7.2 million in the previous week, a larger drop than the 3 million expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The International Energy Agency lowered its global oil demand forecast for 2026 amid war-driven headwinds while projecting a rebound next year. The agency now expects oil consumption to fall by 1.1 million barrels per day this year, 700,000 lower than last month's projection. Q2 deliveries slumped by 5 million a day from a year earlier "in the face of higher fuel prices and disruptions to product availability," the IEA said.

In corporate news, Devon Energy ( DVN ) is drawing fresh activist attention following its merger with Coterra Energy, with Toms Capital Investment Management having built a stake in the shale producer, the Financial Times reported. Devon shares fell 0.8%.

Western Midstream Partners ( WES ) said the second produced-water treatment pilot facility in its joint industry project has begun operations in Reeves County, Texas, in the Permian Basin. The stock declined 0.7%.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) confirmed it signed a development agreement with Syria's new government after a Financial Times report said the company was poised to become the first major US oil and gas producer to do so. ConocoPhillips ( COP ) shares fell 0.5%.