European jet cracks climb again as demand for flying hits new high

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Cracks for jet swaps in north Europe extended recent gains early Thursday, broker data shows, amid a sharp spurt in demand for flying as the summer holiday season starts.

The weekly flight count in Europe has topped 100,000 for the first time this year, data from Eurocontrol, the Brussels-based agency for aviation safety shows.

The seven-day moving average of flight numbers in 41 countries hit 101,171 on Wednesday, up from 98,852 on Tuesday, and 96,662 on Monday.

All three averages include Friday May 28 when daily flight numbers reached a year high of 16,459.

Eurocontrol monitors flights in European airspace from Iceland to Morocco, Ukraine and Turkey.

Last week, airlines added an extra 2.3 million seats for sale on flights in Europe this summer, according to research group OAG.

Crack values for jet cargo swaps in north Europe between July and October gained between $0.13/b and $0.18/b at 0930 UK time compared to 1630 UK time Wednesday.

The move extended gains, with cracks for July paper up $0.30/b, August up $0.40/b, September up $0.43/b, and October up $0.37/b since 1630 UK time Tuesday.