Well, June is done and dusted as we embark on a new financial year today.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is in a mildly celebratory mood to mark this occasion, with the index gaining 0.19% so far today at the time of writing.
But that doesn't take away from the fact that it was a pretty bleak month for the ASX 200. The index lost close to 9% over June, in what has been an especially tough start to winter for investors. But what of the Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price?
Woodside Energy is now the biggest energy share on the ASX by a mile after the company completed its merger with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)'s petroleum business in early June. We all know about the high oil prices that have been lifting the energy sector in 2022. But how has June treated Woodside shares?
Well, Woodside started June at a share price of $29.76. Yesterday, the company closed at $31.84 a share. That means Woodside shares recorded a gain of 6.99% for the month.
Not only is that a pretty stellar one-month gain, but it also represents an outperformance of almost 16% over the ASX 200. So, all in all, a very pleasing month for Woodside shares and shareholders.
Image source: Getty Images
What happened with the Woodside share price over June?
There wasn't a lot of news out of Woodside last month, aside from the BHP merger taking effect. Nor was there much news out of the sector as a whole.
But, as my Fool colleague Brooke covered yesterday, Woodside was actually one of the few ASX 200 oil shares to record a gain over June. Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) was flat last month and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) fell by more than 9.5%.
These moves follow a mellowing of the crude oil price over the month. As we noted yesterday, oil recorded its first monthly fall in price since November last year over June.
So it appears Woodside's good fortunes over the month are likely due to investor goodwill following the BHP deal. No doubt Woodside investors will be hoping for a repeat performance this July.
At the current Woodside share price, this ASX 200 energy share has a market capitalisation of $58.6 billion, with a dividend yield of 6.06%.
