Heating oil slides on swine flu fears

27/04/2009

Wholesale heating oil contracts have plunged during trading this morning (April 27th) as the spread of swine flu continues.

More than 100 people in Mexico have now been killed by the virus and laboratory reports have confirmed that the H1N1 strain has spread to the US. Reports of infection are being investigated in countries as far away as New Zealand and Israel, sparking fears of a global pandemic.

The falls in heating oil stocks were also seen in other fuel commodities trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while securities trading on exchanges across the globe also dropped. Stocks in the travel sector have been particularly hard hit.

On Saturday (April 25th), the director-general of the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

It is actively investigating reports of infection in member states as they emerge.