Oil Futures Pass $60

"Tensions between the West and Iran, ongoing Nigerian strife, (expected to spike as we approach the April elections), and frequent refinery outages, are all lending support to prices," wrote Edward Meir, energy analyst at Man Energy, in a research report.

At the same time, springlike temperatures covering much of the U.S. are preventing energy commodities from moving higher. "Capping the upside, however, is the warmer weather spell now setting onto large regions of the U.S.," Meir wrote. "This seems to be a recipe that calls for more sideways trading."

Because of the federal holiday in the U.S. on Monday, crude oil inventory figures will be released by the Energy Information Administration along with natural gas inventory figures on Thursday.

Energy stocks were mostly higher on the day. The iPath Goldman Sachs Crude Oil(OIL Quote) ETF was 28 cents higher at $35.74.

Trans Canada(TRP Quote), a Canadian natural gas provider, announced that it intends to purchase 8.7 million common units of TC Pipelines(TCLP Quote) for $34.57 a unit. TC Pipelines rose 3.4% to close at $37.36.

Dawson Geophysical(DWSN Quote), which provides onshore seismic data used in energy exploration, was upgraded by Matrix Research from a buy to a strong buy. Its stock rose 4.7% to $42.42.

Energy and production firm Progress Energy (PGN Quote) was upgraded by J.P. Morgan from underweight to neutral. The company's stock climbed 29 cents to $50.30.

E&P firm GMX Resources (GMXR Quote) was downgraded by A.G. Edwards, sending its stock down 3.3% to $34.35.