09:06 AM EDT, 09/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were dropping premarket Wednesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) down 0.4% recently.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 1.9% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up 1.5%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.9% at $70.19 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 1.7% to $73.88 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 2% at $2.60 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Vertex Energy's ( VTNR ) shares were down 57% in premarket activity after the company said overnight that it commenced Chapter 11 "cases" in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, designed to facilitate its restructuring agreement with term loan lenders.

Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) and the Teamsters union remain at a standstill in labor negotiations as a new labor agreement stagnates and the strike at the Detroit refinery enters its third week, Reuters reported Tuesday. The company's shares were down 0.4% in recent premarket activity.