The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 7.8% in March, with two of the big three ASX 200 mining shares outperforming that loss and one falling harder.
All three of the Aussie miners lost ground in the month just past. That came despite a 6% increase in the iron ore price, with the industrial metal ending the month at US$106 per tonne. Copper prices went the other way, however, falling 8% to end March trading for US$12,225 per tonne, according to data from Bloomberg.
Investors will also have been eyeing the impacts from the Iran war. Atop guaranteed higher upcoming fuel costs for the ASX 200 mining shares, they could also potentially be facing diesel supply shortages, which could impact their operations in the months ahead.
Now, as we'll look at below, the three Aussie miners all traded ex-dividend over the month. We'll need to take those passive income payments into account as they'll mitigate the share price declines.
So, how did the ASX 200 mining shares stack up?
I'm glad you asked!
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How did the big three ASX 200 mining shares perform in March?
On 27 February, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares closed at $167.33. When the closing bell sounded on 31 March, shares were swapping hands for $161.43 apiece. This saw the Rio Tinto share price down 3.5% over the month.
Rio Tinto traded ex-dividend on 5 March. The miner will pay the (rounded) $3.60 a share fully-franked dividend on 16 April. If we add that back into the March closing price, then investors holding Rio Tinto shares over the month will have only lost 1.4%.
Turning to Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG), the miner closed out February trading for $21.14 a share and ended March trading for $20.31. This saw the Fortescue share price down 3.9% over the month just past.
Fortescue traded ex-dividend on 2 March. The ASX 200 mining share paid out its fully-franked 62 cents a share dividend on 30 March. Adding that back into the March closing price, and investors holding the stock over the month will have lost a lesser 1.0%.
Trailing the pack in March, we have Australia's biggest mining stock, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).
BHP shares ended February trading for $58.41 and closed out March trading for $50.39 each. This put the ASX 200 mining share down 13.7%.
BHP traded ex-dividend on 5 March. BHP paid its (rounded) $1.04 a share fully-franked dividend on 26 March. But even after we add that back in, investors holding BHP shares over March will have lost 12.0%.
In March, investors also learned that Brandon Craig will take the reins as BHP's new CEO on 1 July.
