Energy Stocks Slip as Oil and Gas Prices Fall Ahead of Open
Energy stocks took a hit before Friday's opening bell as oil and natural gas prices declined. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund, an ETF tracking large US energy companies, fell 1.1% premarket. WTI crude slipped 2% to $92.71 a barrel, while natural gas futures dropped 3.6% to $3.18. The United States Oil Fund (USO) and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), which track those commodities through futures contracts, lost even more ground, down 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively.
On a separate note, Atlas Energy Solutions saw its stock rise after securing new data-center deals with a frontier AI lab. This move highlights how investments in AI-related infrastructure can benefit energy-adjacent companies, even on a weak day for the underlying fuels. Meanwhile, Colombia's Ecopetrol fell after naming Joaquin Gutierrez Caballero CEO, and France's TotalEnergies dipped following its support for renewing Patrick Pouyanne's mandate at an upcoming shareholder vote.
The performance of USO and UNG serves as a reminder that futures products don't necessarily mirror the underlying commodity prices. These funds use contracts to track oil and gas prices, which can lead to differences in their returns compared to physical commodities or other types of investments.