Spot prices for jet fuel have jumped...

Spot prices for jet fuel have jumped by as much as 18% since OPEC minsters agreed last month to cap production, and the increase may soon be passed on to airline customers, who show few signs of curbing travel, analysts say. Jet fuel prices increase 3 cents a gallon for each $1 rise in the cost of a barrel of crude oil, said George James, president of market research firm Airline Economics Inc. In Los Angeles, the spot price for jet fuel has risen to 47 cents, a rise of about 7 cents a gallon, or 18%, since before the cartel’s meeting. Each 1-cent rise in the price of jet fuel adds about $130 million in annual costs to the industry, James said.