Iron ore miners have weighed on the ASX today. BHP Group fell 1.36% and Rio Tinto lost 2.3% as iron ore futures slipped to a three-day low of $US106.75.
Rio Tinto's Pilbara derailment in May resulted in six days of lost time on its primary rail network, negatively affecting total iron ore output and shipments for the June quarter.
In the first half of 2024, Rio Tinto shipped 158.3 million tonnes of iron ore, an annualised rate of 316.6 million tonnes, falling short of its 323 to 338 million tonnes export guidance.
The mining giant announced on Tuesday that it anticipates bridging this gap in the second half of the year, maintaining its annual cost and shipment guidance.
May's rail accident also constrained production from Rio Tinto's mines, with output slowing as mine stockpiles reached capacity during the outage. The Pilbara mines produced 79.5 million tonnes during the period, a 2% decrease compared to the same period in 2023.
“Productivity gains offset ore depletion, however, production and shipping in the quarter were impacted by a train collision in mid-May, which resulted in around six days of lost rail capacity and full stockpiles at some mines," the company said
"Shipments of 80.3 million tonnes (Rio Tinto share 66.2 million tonnes) were 2% higher than the second quarter of 2023, with the drawdown of port stocks.”
S&P/ASX200 lower
The S&P/ASX200 dropped 15.10 points or 0.19% to 8,002.50 after setting a new 52-week high. Over the last five days, the index has gained 2.21% and is currently 0.43% off of its 52-week high.
Bottom-performing stocks in this index are Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) and Metcash Ltd, down 3.63% and 3.25% respectively.
Materials, Consumer Discretionary and Utilities were the worst-hit sectors, losing 0.87%, 0.85% and 0.74% respectively.
Real Estate was the best-performed gaining 0.94%.
Looking at small caps, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) lost 0.21% today to 3,058.60, but is up 2.24% for the previous five trading days.
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