Swine flu spreads economic shivers

The global outbreak of H1N1 Swine flu has the potential to continue sending shivers through financial markets for a while yet.

As a result, Travel and Tourism is still taking a bit of a battering due to the uncertainty about how the threat of a pandemic may hamper economic activity.

As expected, the Pharmaceutical sector is relatively buoyant as attentions focus on the provision of defensive medical treatments and equipment with Swiss drug giant Roche enjoying a surge in demand for its treatment Tamiflu.

Rapidly spreading concerns about a possible international pandemic is also affecting currency trading with the yen performing better against the dollar.

Swine flu is also impacting on oil prices and aviation with the threat of a drop in air travel.

There is suspicion that traders are now starting to lock in profits due to the fact that the H1N1 strain has the potential to become a rather serious development.

Governments across the globe may be doing as much as they can to alleviate fears and manage people’s expectations, but health worries and the potential ability of the illness to be fatal, is to continue causing concern for a while yet.

The impact and economic picture for the UK will not become clearer really until the expected 2nd stage impact expected later in the year as temperatures drop in the UK.

Hopefully of course, there will not be any 2nd stage!