Crude's Win Streak Kept Alive

A Navy representative said that the Eisenhower and Nimitz carrier groups won't overlap each other in the Persian Gulf. Rumors have been swirling for weeks that the U.S. Navy was planning to add more carriers to the existing fleet there in a large display of force.

Elsewhere, the Energy Information Administration revealed new natural gas inventory figures that were mostly in line with analyst estimates. Natural gas inventories fell by 22 billion cubic feet during the week ended March 23. Analysts were expecting a 16 bcf draw.

Natural gas prices are up roughly 18% since the beginning of the year even though recent inventory figures have been relatively bearish.

According to Edward Meir, energy analyst at Man Financial, energy traders reacted to the warm temperatures this past winter by taking large short positions on natural gas. However, recent revelations that natural gas imports from Canada have been significantly smaller than normal are causing some analysts to take a more bullish stance.

This probably encouraged traders to cover their short positions in recent weeks, pushing natural gas prices higher.

Energy stocks finished mostly higher. The CBOE Oil Index rose 0.6% to 664.48. ConocoPhillips (COP Quote) was up slightly at $69.21, Chevron (CVX Quote) climbed 1.2% to $74.95, and Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) gained 0.9% to $76.24.

U.S. Bioenergy (USBE Quote) was upgraded by Piper Jafray to outperform from market perform, lifting its shares 5.3% to $12.28.

Capital One Southcoast downgraded shares of seismic company Dawson Geohysical (DWSN Quote) to hold from buy, sending it to a 5.3% loss at $49.97.