Mumbai: Shares of domestic airline companies were trading higher on hopes that lower jet fuel prices may boost profitability.

Prices of jet fuel or jet fuel were reduced by a steep 11.3 percent on Sunday. This is the seventh straight reduction in prices since August on back of falling international oil prices.

Jet Airways (India) Ltd, India’s second-largest airline by passengers carried, rose 5.6 percent while low-fare airline SpiceJet Ltd gained 6.76 percent.

The price of Brent crude has fallen 58.2 percent to $48.11 a barrel from $115.06 per barrel in the past seven months. In India, fuel costs count for about 45-55 percent of the revenue of domestic airlines and a 4 percent reduction in the fuel cost may add around 2 percent to their operating margins.

The Mumbai-based Jet Airways will report its earnings on 6 February and, according to a Bloomberg consensus of three analysts, it is expected to post net profit of Rs.213.3 crore on revenue of Rs.5,396.4 crore for the quarter ended 31 December. At 10am, Jet Airways was trading at Rs. 537.20 on BSE, up 4.4 percent, while SpiceJet rose 4.1 percent to Rs. 23.10.