Ryanair is online spread bettors’ favourite

27 Aug 2008

Airline Ryanair is currently making up 7pc of the total revenues on equities on paddypowertrader.com, due to a fall in the price of crude oil, the betting firm said yesterday.

The betting firm’s newest business division claims to have 50pc of its customers in the Republic of Ireland and the remainder mostly in the UK.

Ryanair is one of a number of Irish movers attracting attention on the spreadbetting site, including AIB and Elan Corporation.

Spread bettors have been diving into Ryanair as the Irish airline’s shares fluctuate in price. Price movements for Ryanair in recent days, which have been attributed to a fall in the cost of crude oil, have revived some investment demand for the airline.

Paddypowertrader spread bettors trading on Ryanair have really taken off, as crude oil started affecting the sale price of Ryanair shares. Ryanair is currently making up 7pc of the total revenues traded on equities with paddypowertrader.com.

The Irish spread-betting venture has seen increasing numbers of spread bettors trading airline equities over the past few months. Analysts put this down to ongoing uncertainty in the commodities markets.

“Ryanair is attracting a lot of attention from smart traders,” said David McAnaney, commercial manager for paddypowertrader.com. “It seems like Irish retail investors are more comfortable trading airline shares instead of short selling oil prices at the moment.

“Volatility in commodity markets is driving more Irish spread bettors to dealing in airline shares. Ryanair, which has moved 1.3pc today alone to sell at €2.58 (circ 3pm) is an extremely popular trade for our spread bettors. It also seems the bulk of our clients believe the only way is up for the high-flying airline. Most of those trades are long indicating good support for the airline.” McAnaney explained.

Paddypowertrader.com launched in the summer of 2007, enabling clients to take advantage of the benefits of financial spread betting, including being a tax–free alternative to trading shares and financial markets.

By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com