Shippers hedging on crude rise, airlines still wary

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Shippers have hastened their fuel hedging since early April as oil’s recent rally worried end users that the price of already tightening marine fuel supply will move further against them.

Airlines have so far resisted the move, after many were burned last year from hedging activities at a time crude was sliding from records, along with fears of lower travel demand due to the recession and from the H1N1 flu virus, traders in Asia said.

Utilities, the third sector that leans heavily on managing fuel costs, have seen relatively steady hedging activity.

“More hedgers are entering the market. Not en masse, but we’ve certainly seen a rise in interest across the consumer spectrum in the last month,” Jonathan Kornafel, Asia director of U.S.-based Hudson Capital Energy, said.

Reuters