Why the BHP share price is charging higher on Monday

The BHP share price is nearing a record high…

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has been a strong performer on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the mining giant's shares are up almost 4% to $51.33.

This leaves the BHP share price trading within sight of its record high of $51.82.

Mining worker wearing hard hat and high vis vest holds thumbs up and smiles

Image source: Getty Images

Why is the BHP share price charging higher?

The BHP share price has taken off on Monday following an equally strong night of trade for its US-listed shares on Friday night. The Big Australian's NYSE-listed shares rose 4% on Friday after US markets raced to record highs.

Also giving the BHP share price a boost was a positive night for a number of key commodities that the mining giant produces.

One of those was oil. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 2.2% to US$74.56 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price rose 1.4% to US$75.55 a barrel. Traders were buying oil after US inventories declined.

Base metals also performed positively on Friday. According to CommSec, the copper price lifted by 2.1% and the nickel price rose 2.4%. This was driven by news that China has loosened its lending requirements for financial institutions to boost its economic recovery.

And while the spot iron ore price softened by 0.8% to US$214.08 a tonne, this is still significantly higher than BHP's cost of production.

Can its shares climb even higher?

One leading broker that believes BHP shares can still climb higher from here is Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).

According to a note from late last month, the broker has put an outperform rating and $63.00 price target on its shares.

Based on the latest BHP share price, this implies potential upside of almost 23% over the next 12 months excluding dividends. This stretches to over 30% if you include the dividends that Macquarie expects from BHP over the period.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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