Investing In A Coal Rebound: 5 Stocks To Watch

Natural gas bulls finally have a reason to be optimistic. Recent data shows that the U.S. supply-demand gap has closed, with the EIA noting that natural gas demand surpassed total supply in the past year. “Therefore, if growth in natural gas demand continues to surpass growth in natural gas supply, a supply deficit will open up and push prices higher,” analysts at Canaccord Genuity told clients.

After languishing in decade-low prices for much of the last  year, natural gas has emerged as the unlikely best performing commodity so far in 2013, rising 32% from its 2013 low. Last week alone Canadian benchmark prices inched 2% upwards to reach C$3.73 per mcf amid one of the worst commodity routs of the past year. Meanwhile, American Henry Hub benchmark climbed 3% last week and is now 31.3% higher than it was at the start of the year.

Natural gas figures prominently in President Obama's second-term energy blueprint, released this morning. He hopes to convert more commercial trucks to the fuel and support "research into the safe and responsible use of natural gas," to the tune of $40 million.

Barack Obama cannot deliver on his promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% without decisive new actions, a report warned on Wednesday.

By Matthew Smith:For those who read our daily commodity articles here on Seeking Alpha, then you are fully aware of our outlook for coal and natural gas. For those readers who are new, it is our opinion that the outlook of coal is tied to that of natural gas. The two commodities are substitutes for each other and so long as one is experiencing a glut, so too shall the other. This is the hard reality in the commodity arena, and investors are forced to trade accordingly.

By Simit Patel:Anyone interested in investing in nuclear power will benefit greatly from having an understanding of the science and politics surrounding climate change. Government policies will greatly affect what energy systems come to the market - witness the recent proposed EPA mandate that would basically outlaw coal power plants in the U.S. - and so they will affect investment opportunities accordingly.

Matthew Bradbard submits: I went out to lunch today and was stopped on the street by a homeless individual. Why I bring this up is instead of asking me for change he asked for $5. He gets it why doesn’t the US government? March Crude broke the 100 day MA today for the first time since late November. We suggest remaining in bullish plays but what we found interesting today was while the front month is down 2.13% as of this post April was lower by 1.4% and May is down just shy of 1%.

The chart above shows the significant reduction in coal's share of total U.S.