Airline and Cruise Stocks Slide as Oil Prices Surge to 5-Month High

Oil prices rose to a five-month high on Monday, weighing on shares of airlines, cruise operators and other companies whose finances are directly affected by fuel prices.

Oil prices jumped more than 3% Late last week after the Finance Ministry announced sweeping sanctions against Russia’s oil industry, raising concerns about potential disruptions to global supplies.

Brent oilThe global benchmark rose more than 1% to around $81 a barrel, its highest level since August. West Texas IntermediateThe US benchmark was trading at $78.70 a barrel on Monday afternoon, up nearly 3% from Friday.

Airlines, whose fuel is a big expense, felt the pressure on Monday. Shares of Delta Air Lines (DALL:) and United Airlines (UAL:) fell more than 2% to American Airlines (AAL:) fell by more than 4%. Cruise operators such as Carnival (CCL:) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH:) were also low, with a decrease of 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively.

Otherwise, oil and natural gas producers were among the best performers in the S&P 500 on Monday, with Baker Hughes (BKR:) grew by almost 4%, and ExxonMobil (XOM:) advanced by about 3%.

Travel stocks finished the year strong as oil prices fell and consumers showed little sign that higher prices had dampened demand for post-pandemic travel than doubled in value.Delta gained about 69% over the same period (RCL:) shares were little changed on Monday, but are up more than 87% over the past 12 months.

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