LNG shipping stocks: Holiday decline

Last week, the UP World LNG Shipping Index (UPI) declined by 0.63% to 165.53 points, marking its second consecutive week of decline amid low trading volumes and increased market volatility typical of the holiday season. New Fortress Energy led the gainers with over 20%, driven by the launch of its FLNG Altamira LNG project, while Excelerate Energy saw a 3.5% rise, forming a bullish hammer pattern despite seller pressure. Most decliners were from Asia again.

UPI & SPX
Last week, UPI, which tracks listed LNG shipping companies, lost 1.04 points or 0.63%, closing at 165.53 points. The S&P 500 index also dropped and lost 1.97%. The chart below shows both indices with weekly data.

Broader view
UPI declined for the second week but on low traded volume. Other main global indices also declined. The number of losers was not high enough to change the positive sentiment. In combination with low volume, it shows a holiday mode on markets. In these times, volatility usually rises.

Constituents
Gainers were mostly the same as a week ago. The main was New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ: NFE), which continued rising from the support area and gained over 20%. On Friday, the company announced the launch of production of its FLNG Altamira LNG project in Mexico.
Excelerate Energy (NASDAQ: EE) gained 3.5%, the second most significant growth last week. It might be seen as a low gain, but there are two essential things: 1) EE resisted sellers who tried to push the price below the open price, and 2) the price formed kinf of a bullish candle pattern called „hammer“. Some technical analysis tools, like the weekly Ichimoku Cloud, support this bullish view. So these were the two most essential gainers.

As 3.5% was the second biggest gain, the others were lower. Not only are they lower, but they also have some negative signs, which EE resisted. Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Flex LNG (NYSE/OSE: FLNG) and Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE: DLNG) gained about 2.3%, but in these cases, sellers were more successful in pushing the gains lower. This shows a struggle in the near-term growth of these companies. On the other hand, both are deep in their brackets and go sideways for several weeks. The real power would be shown on top (or bottom) levels. For FLNG, it is at about $28 and, more importantly, at $30. For CVX, it is around $165/166. DLNG is neutral despite the rise. Its level to beat is $4.2 and about $3.7 on the low level. Other gains were around 1% or lower.

Again, most decliners were from Asia. Korea Line Corporation (KRX: 005880) lost another 7.6% on a low traded volume and is ready to continue declining in its bracket. Even the third double-digit rising attempt wasn´t successful.
Three shippers from Japan declined to their support lines. „K“ Line (TSE: 9107) lost 3.9%, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (TSE: 9104) lost 3.2%, and NYK Line (TSE: 9101) declined by 2.1%. Other declines were around 1% or lower.

Established in 2020, the UP World LNG Shipping Index is a rules-based stock index family designed to measure the performance of worldwide publicly traded companies involved in the maritime transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG). This unique index covers 18 companies and partnerships worldwide, representing over 65% of the world’s LNG carrier fleet in 2020. The UP Index offers premium services with freemium and trial access to charts.
Source: By Tomas Novotny, UP-Indices.com