Reports from the USA show a marked decline in airline stocks as crude prices oil raced up again this week to above $US72 a barrel.
The Amex Airline Index lost 3.1 % to 51.48 points, with all stocks in the benchmark gauge moving lower.
American Airlines parent AMR finished down 4.7% at $US24.38, with all other stocks in the group, including Continental Airlines and JetBlue losing more than 3%.
Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines declined least ending less than 1% each.
Outside the direct industry index, United Airlines UAL Corporation fell 5.5% to $US30.12 and U.S. Airways, US Airways Group Inc fell 3.2% to $US48.04.
Earlier, crude-oil futures climbed above $US72 a barrel for the first time in two weeks, as a result of last week’s closure of a key waterway in Louisiana feeding concerns over gasoline supplies ahead of the US holiday weekend.
Report by The Mole
