Airline stocks soar as oil falls
Continental, US Airways, United Airlines stocks jump more than 10% as oil plunges to three-month lows.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Airline stocks went sky-high on Friday, as oil prices - the industry's nemesis - plunged to three-month lows.
"As oil is unwinding, the airlines are going back up," said Bob McAdoo, airline analyst for Avondale Partners.
In general, the money-losing airline industry has been squeezed by higher oil prices and the Amex Airline Index (XAL) is down 32% this year. But that's not counting the gains on Friday, when the index rose more than 6% in the afternoon.
Some of the individual stocks, such as Continental Airlines (CAL, Fortune 500), US Airways (LCC, Fortune 500), and UAL Corp (UAUA, Fortune 500)., the holding company for United Airlines, increased 10% or more.
Meanwhile, light sweet crude for September delivery lost $3.49 to $116.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
But Ray Neidl, analyst for Calyon Securities, said that investors shouldn't read too much into the airline stock reaction to the oil prices - unless it sticks.
"If oil prices stay down, this is going to be helpful to cash flow [for the airlines,]" said Neidl. "But it's just psychological right now."
Oil prices were lower following decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to keep interest rates steady. Also, concerns over a Turkish supply disruption were alleviated as oil was rerouted to other pipelines, according to reports. 
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