The Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price slid into the red on Tuesday.
Rio Tinto shares fell 0.89% to close at $117.74. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 0.18% amid the RBA hitting the pause button on interest rate rises.
Let's take a look at what may have weighed on the Rio Tinto share price today.
Image source: Getty Images
What happened?
Rio Tinto was not the only ASX 200 mining share to drop today. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares slid 2.19%, while the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price slid 0.68%.
A fall in the iron ore price may have impacted Rio Tinto and other ASX 200 iron ore miners.
The iron ore price dropped 2.76% to US$123.50, Trading Economics data shows.
The iron ore price slipped amid fears China could intervene in the market, Reuters reported. China's National Development and Reform Commission reportedly met with multiple companies in Beijing to discuss the iron ore market. Commenting on the news, senior analyst at multinational financial services company FIS Pei Hao said:
Market sentiment is adversely affected by concerns over [the] government's cracking down on speculative activities which was triggered by the news.
Iron ore is currently down 2.11% on the Singapore Exchange.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto today advised it will support Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ASX: ERA)'s $369 million entitlement offer.
The funds are being raised to fund rehabilitation expenditure for the Ranger Project in the Northern Territory.
Rio owns 86.3% of Energy Resources of Australia shares and will subscribe for its full entitlements under the interim entitlement offer, costing $319 million.
In a statement to the market today, Rio Tinto Australia chief executive Kellie Parker said:
We are committed to ensuring the critical rehabilitation of Ranger is completed to a standard that will establish an environment similar to the adjacent Kakadu National Park.
Rio share price snapshot
The Rio Tinto share price has slipped 2.42% in the last year.
Rio Tinto has a market capitalisation of about $43.7 billion based on the current share price.
