Sector Update: Energy

09:09 AM EDT, 10/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were leaning lower premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) declining by 0.1%. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 1.1% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 4.9% lower. Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 0.2% higher at $98.05 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 0.1% to $108.86 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 3.6% at $2.86 per 1 million British Thermal Units. Shell (SHEL) and Equinor (EQNR) have secured Britain's approval for the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea to begin supplying gas to British homes and businesses as early as the end of October, the UK government said. Shell and Equinor shares were 0.3% lower premarket.