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Sector Update: Energy

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-- Energy stocks edged down late Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) both fractionally lower.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was adding 0.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index increased 0.1%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2% to $96.31 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 2.5% to $107.98 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 1.2% to $2.55 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, US Energy (USEG) shares jumped 25% after it said Monday it has signed a five-year helium sales agreement with an unnamed investment-grade global industrial gas company, securing long-term contracted cash flow for its Big Sky Carbon Hub project in Montana ahead of targeted Q1 2027 operations.

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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Rise on Cooler Weather Outlook

US natural gas futures climbed in after-hours trading on Monday as a cooler weather outlook and easing supply conditions triggered some short covering.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract both rose 0.75% to $2.542 per million British thermal units.Prices briefly touched an intraday high of around $2.63/MMBtu in earlier trade."Nat-gas prices settled higher on Monday as short covering emerged amid colder US weather forecasts, potentially boosting nat-gas heating demand," Barchart said.Weather-driven demand shifts were a key driver. NatGasWeather.com said models have moved cooler versus last week, adding more heating demand days while reducing cooling demand. The forecaster said the change leaves the outlook less bearish and closer to neutral or slightly bullish.On the demand side, residential and commercial consumption increased sharply to 15.2 billion cubic feet per day from 12.5 Bcf/d as cooler temperatures boosted heating needs. Power burn remained steady at 32.5 Bcf/d and is projected to average 30.3 Bcf/d for the week, up from 29 Bcf/d last week, Gelber & Associates said.Total US natural gas production was flat last week, averaging around 106.5 Bcf/d, NRG Energy said. Trading Economics said output fell by around 4.1 Bcf/d over the past 18 days to an 11-week low of 108.1 Bcf/d, as major producers such as EQT scaled back output in response to low prices.Both NRG Energy and Gelber said Canadian imports fell to 4.7-4.8 Bcf/d from 5.5 Bcf/d.On the export side, Barchart, citing BNEF data, said LNG flows were 19.5 Bcf/d, down 2.1% from last week's robust levels. Trading Economics put the April average feedgas flow at 18.9 Bcf/d so far and noted it was near record highs."Today saw cooler forecast revisions, softer production, and steady LNG demand, which offers limited support for prices. That said, overall fundamental balances are not tight enough to fully change the story," Gelber said Monday.