Aviation stocks slide on ATF price hike

Aviation stocks today lost ground and fell by up to 4 per cent.

Aviation stocks today lost ground and fell by up to 4 per cent as state-owned oil firms hiked jet fuel rates by 1.7 per cent in line with firming international oil rates.

Kingfisher Airlines was down 2.82 per cent to settle at Rs 9.66 on the BSE. In the intra-day trade,the scrip touched a lifetime low of Rs 9.62,down 3.21 per cent.

SpiceJet’s shares slipped 2.20 per cent to close at Rs 31.10,while Jet Airways India plunged 3.71 per cent to Rs 354.60.

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The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF),or jet fuel,in Delhi was hiked by Rs 1,039.1 per kilolitre (kl),or 1.7 per cent,to Rs 62,208.18,according to Indian Oil Corp,the nation’s largest oil firm.

The hike comes on back of reductions in rates in six fortnights,including a steep 5 per cent (Rs 3,260 per kl) cut effected from June 16 and about 2 per cent (Rs 1,241 per kl) fall in prices from July 1.

Jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline’s operating costs and the increase in prices will wipe away some of the gain the cash-strapped airlines had made from reductions.

In the stock market,the BSE barometer Sensex ended flat at 17,105.30,up 1.99 points.