Home / Sector / Materials Shares / Why is the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price down 4% today?

Why is the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price down 4% today?

The prices of most industrial and precious metals fell overnight.

Posted by
Bernd Struben
Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton
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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is sliding today, down 3.8%.

BHP shares closed yesterday trading for $47.36 and are currently at $45.59.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed iron ore giant is trailing the benchmark today, with the ASX 200 down 0.7% at time of writing.

It's right about in line with the performance of the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ), which has dropped 3.7% since the opening bell.

Woman in yellow hard hat and gloves puts both thumbs down

Image source: Getty Images

Why is the materials sector under pressure?

The BHP share price is far from alone in today's selloff.

Fellow ASX 200 mining behemoths Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) shares are down 5.6% and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares are down 4.4% at this same time.

With no price-sensitive news out from BHP, today's decline looks to be mostly due to the overnight drop in iron ore prices. Iron ore is currently trading for US$145 per tonne, down 6.2% over the past 24 hours.

With most other industrial and precious metals prices falling over the last day as well, materials are currently the worst performing sector on the ASX.

BHP share price snapshot

Despite today's retrace, the BHP share price remains up 7.5% in 2022, handily outpacing the 6.4% year-to-date loss posted by the ASX 200.

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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