Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI), Peabody (NYSE:BTU) Alpha Natural Resources, (NYSE:ANR) CONSOL Energy (NYSE:CNX) Massey (NYSE:MEE) Push Up on Demand

Even though the optimism may be unfounded, that hasn't stopped a number of commodities and commodity producers like Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTU) Alpha Natural Resources, (NYSE:ANR) CONSOL Energy (NYSE:CNX) and Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) from pushing up on a possible increase in demand.

Depending on what part of the mixed economic news you focus on, a case can be made for many scenarios going forward, and with coal, the scenario at this time is it is expected to rebound.

The overall coal sector looks like it's going to run for some time, although the volatile global economy could check that quickly.

With coal being used to make steel and generate electricity, any sign it's rebounding in actuality will be considered a key metric to trust that something positive economically is happening.

Arch Coal closed Thursday at $31.28, gaining $1.06, or 3.51 percent. Massey ending the trading session at $50.25, up by $0.65, or 1.31 percent. Consol ended the day at $44.43, up by $0.74, or 1.69 percent. Alpha surged to $53.02, gaining $2.33, or 4.60 percent. Peabody closed the day at $62.72, rising by $1.84, or 3.02 percent.