The first day of our shortened trading week kicked off this morning and the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has rocketed 1% higher after our big mining stocks burst out the blocks.
- Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) up 4%
- South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) up 4.4%
- Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) up 3.4%
- BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) up 3%
What's happened?
Here are three reasons why they're our best performers today
- The Australian Dollar this morning touched a 7-month low, increasing the value (in Australian dollars) that our companies receive when they sell their commodities in US dollars
- The Iron Ore price is sitting pretty at around US$80 per tonne
- The gold and silver prices rose over the Christmas break
Where to from here?
It's been a great year for our big mining stocks but it's very rare in recent times to see these stocks perform well two years in a row. For that reason I'm keeping an eye out for other opportunities that might represent better value at the moment.