What happened Shares of coal producer Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) fell as much as 23.1% in trading on Tuesday after some of the euphoria in the stock yesterday wore off. Shares of the stock were still down 20.4% at 3:30 p.m. EDT but were up 6.6% for the week. So what The real story today is about giving back yesterday's gains. Shares of the coal energy stock jumped yesterday because warmer than normal weather is expected in the U.S., which caused a jump in natural gas prices on hope that supply would exceed demand. Logically, if demand for natural gas is up it seems like the demand for coal should be up as well. Image source: Getty Images. Some of the short-term story about high demand may be right, but there's a big flaw in the bullish case for Peabody Energy. First, the spike in demand could be short-lived because the weather could turn cold later in the summer. More importantly, coal power plants across the country have been shut down for good, and there's going to be less demand for coal in the future. The chart below shows how quickly coal is declining as an energy source in the U.S. US Coal Consumption data by YCharts Now what It was speculation that sent Peabody Energy higher yesterday and when the speculative buyers disappeared the stock gains were gone as well. I wouldn't read too much into this week's moves but would pay attention to coal's trends long-term. The source of energy is in sharp decline and companies like Peabody Energy will have a very hard time surviving in the long run. 10 stocks we like better than Peabody Energy CorporationWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Peabody Energy Corporation wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of May 11, 2021 Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source