World: Airline hedges fuel rally in later dated oil prices

Big airlines are making waves in the oil market for the first time since prices went into a tailspin nearly two years ago, betting this may be their best chance to lock in cheap jet fuel for years to come, industry and market sources say. A number of airlines moved last week to place significant oil price hedges for 2017, 2018 and even 2019, according to three trading sources familiar with money flows. They declined to specify companies, but said it was the largest flurry of such activity in more than a year. A fourth trading source indicated that bigger trades occurred in the over the counter market last week. While still small relative to previous years, when some carriers hedged as much as 40 percent of their fuel costs, the recent activity was robust and included larger players, the source added. The renewed interest suggests that airlines executives who were stung by billions of dollars in hedging-related losses last year are more confident that they're buying at the bottom, a further sign of shifting sentiment in the oil market after an over 60-percent price slump since mid-2014 . <br/>