Energy stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) climbing 1.7%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was falling 3.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 1.4%.
In sector news, Brent briefly crossed $100 a barrel on Thursday as worries grew that oil flow disruptions will continue amid an intensifying conflict in the Middle East. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC earlier in the day that America was "not ready" to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows. Last week, President Donald Trump said that the US would escort tankers through the strait, which Iran has effectively shut.
The Trump administration intends to issue temporary waivers for the Jones Act that would allow foreign tankers to supply East Coast refiners with fuel from the Gulf Coast and other parts of the US, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing a people familiar with the matter.
The International Energy Agency on Thursday slashed its oil output growth forecast for this year, saying the conflict in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global crude market. The agency expects oil supply to increase by 1.1 million barrels per day this year, down from its previous estimate that called for a gain of 2.4 million barrels.
US natural gas stocks fell by 38 billion cubic feet in the week ended March 6, less than the 41-billion cubic foot decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a decrease of 132 billion cubic feet in the previous week.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 8.9% to $95.21 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract jumped 8.3% to $99.61 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures decreased 0.5% to $3.19 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, TotalEnergies (TTE) said Thursday it has shut down or is in the process of shutting down production in Iraq, Qatar and UAE offshore, which represents roughly 15% of its total output. Separately, TotalEnergies said Thursday that production has restarted at the Mabruk oil field in Libya, which is located onshore about 130 kilometers south of Sirte. TotalEnergies shares were fractionally lower.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) shares jumped past 6% after Wells Fargo upgraded the company to overweight from underweight and lifted its price target to $69 from $47.
Ecopetrol (EC) said Thursday the Colombian Attorney General's Office brought formal charges against Ricardo Roa, the company's president, for alleged influence peddling by a public servant. Ecopetrol shares were up 2.1%.
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