Why BHP and other ASX mining shares are making strides on Friday

The BHP share price is recovering lost ground today.

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Three miners wearing hard hats and high vis vests take a break on site at a mine as the Fortescue share price drops in FY22

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Key points

  • BHP shares are lifting almost 2% in mid-afternoon trade on Friday
  • The S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index is climbing more than 2%, making it the best-performing index on the ASX
  • Iron ore prices have stabilised for now to trade at US$114.50 per tonne

The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is rebounding on Friday after hitting a year-to-date low earlier this week.

At the time of writing, shares in the world's largest miner are up 1.93% to $39.69.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.52% higher to 6,682.7 points.

Let's take a look at what's causing the miner's shares to race past the benchmark ASX 200 index.

What's driving BHP forward?

There could be a couple of reasons why the BHP share price is heading north today despite no company announcements.

Firstly, the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) is the best performing index across the ASX today with a 2.27% gain.

This has led shares in Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) to lift 1.47% and 1.40%, respectively.

The strong turnaround for the benchmark index of Australian resource companies comes amid a 17% fall since 8 June.

Recently, bearish sentiment impacted global markets following investor concerns about a looming recession on the back of China's COVID-19 crisis.

However, those worries have been alleviated for now as a number of blue-chip shares trade in bargain territory.

In addition, the price for iron ore appears to have stabilised after cooling down from its year-to-date highs of US$150.

Currently, the steel-making ingredient is fetching US$114.50 per tonne.

As reported by Trading Economics, China's portside inventories increased last week after declining for the previous two months.

Both Australia and Brazil ramped up their iron ore shipments to the Asian powerhouse.

Subsequently, China's blast furnaces are likely to operate close to full capacity as iron ore supply flows in.

BHP share price snapshot

Since the beginning of 2022, the BHP share price has struggled to take off amid a challenging economic environment.

The mining giant's shares are up 7% year-to-date, but down 10% in the past 12 months.

Based on today's price, BHP has a market capitalisation of $191.15 billion.

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Scott Phillips.

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