Sector Update: Energy Stocks Mixed Late Afternoon
Energy stocks were mixed late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.2% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) decreasing 0.3%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was down 0.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was fractionally higher.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.6% to $85.48 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 0.3% to $91.26 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were steady at $2.78 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 14, following an increase of 11.3 million barrels in the week earlier. Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 4.4 million barrels compared with a 17.4-million-barrel gain in the week prior, and above the 200,000-barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.In corporate news, Sable Offshore (SOC) can continue using an emergency order from the Trump administration as legal authority for the restart of an oil pipeline in Santa Barbara, California, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing a court ruling. Sable shares jumped past 18%.BP (BP) has begun trading Venezuelan oil, with a tanker loading about 400,000 barrels of heavy fuel oil supplied by state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela for delivery to Houston, Bloomberg reported. BP shares rose 0.7%.Energy Fuels (UUUU) shares gained 5.8% after it said Wednesday that terbium oxide produced at the White Mesa Mill in Utah has been qualified for commercial use by one of Japan's largest rare earth permanent magnet manufacturers.FLEX LNG (FLNG) shares climbed 3.9% after it reported higher Q2 adjusted net income and revenue.Shell (SHEL) Lubricants and Hyundai Motor have renewed their global partnership for another five years, the companies said Wednesday. Shell shares were up 0.8%.
