ASX 200 mining shares including Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) are outperforming the benchmark index today.
Fortescue shares are up 1.57% to $22.935 in early afternoon trading. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are lifting 1.75%, while Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are up 1.91%. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is up 1.3% at the time of writing.
Let's take a look at what could be impacting these ASX 200 mining shares today.
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What's happening?
Fortescue, BHP, and Rio Tinto are all major iron ore producers. BHP and Rio Tinto also have exposure to multiple other commodities.
The iron ore price lifted 2.54% to US$121 a tonne overnight, Trading Economics data shows. Nickel also rose 2.36% on the London Metal Exchange. Meantime, aluminium jumped 2.5% to US$2,438 a tonne.
Commenting on these gains in a research note today, ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said investors were "buoyed by signs of stronger demand". She said:
Upside surprises continue in China, with economic data pointing to positive momentum amid the reopening of its economy.
The stronger than expected economic data also boosted sentiment in the iron ore market. Signs of improvement in the property sector garnered the most interest.
ANZ's Dunk noted that steel output in China rose 6.9% year on year to 95.3 mt in March. Iron ore is the major ingredient used to make steel.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.5% in the first quarter of 2023, as noted yesterday afternoon. This had a muted impact on BHP, Rio, and Fortescue shares yesterday, however, the rise in iron ore price overnight on the back of this data appears to be providing these shares with a boost today.
BHP has also recently received regulatory and shareholder approval to take over copper miner OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: OZL).
Share price snapshot
The Fortescue share price has returned 5.32% in the last 12 months. BHP shares have climbed 0.16% over the same period, while RIO shares have jumped 1.98%.
