LONDON, March 19, 2026, 15:39 GMT
Rio Tinto Plc shares fell about 5% to 6,322 pence in late London trade on Thursday, hit by a heavy selloff in miners as metals weakened and the FTSE 100 slipped. The stock underperformed a broader UK market that was already under pressure from another jump in oil prices. 1
The move matters now because Rio still leans on iron ore for the bulk of its profit, and fresh data out of China did little to calm demand worries. China imported 210.02 million metric tons of iron ore in the first two months of 2026, but steel output fell 3.6% and port stockpiles climbed to a record 166.91 million tons, a sign the ore is going into storage rather than furnaces. 2
The backdrop worsened across commodities. Gold fell more than 5%, silver dropped more than 10%, copper touched three-month lows and Brent crude swung around $112-$115 a barrel after attacks on Gulf energy facilities, stoking fears of stickier inflation and slower growth. 3
Investors are not rushing to buy the drop. Michael Field, chief European equity strategist at Morningstar, said there was not enough “money and confidence” in the market to lift shares after recent falls, a mood that has hurt growth-sensitive names such as miners. 4
That is the main risk for Rio holders. The Federal Reserve signalled only one cut this year, the Bank of England left rates unchanged at 3.75% in a unanimous vote, and Montis Financial chief investment officer Dennis Follmer said oil was now driving not just stock prices but also Fed policy. If energy stays high, miners could take a second hit from softer demand and tighter money. 5
Rival BHP is facing the same squeeze. New chief executive Brandon Craig said competition for copper is heating up and ties with China remain critical, underlining how the big diversified miners are trying to add future-facing metals without losing sight of iron ore cash flow. 6
Rio does have fresh copper upside. This week it secured the Arizona acreage needed for Resolution Copper, the U.S. project it owns with BHP, and said it would begin a $500 million drilling campaign. Katie Jackson, head of Rio’s copper business, said projects like Resolution can help strengthen domestic supply chains. 7
Still, February’s results left little room for disappointment. Rio reported underlying earnings — its preferred profit measure excluding one-off items — of $10.87 billion, below consensus, and said iron ore made up about 60% of group earnings. Andy Forster of Argo Investments called it “a good result,” though “perhaps not as impressive as BHP.” Thursday’s share move suggests the market is still treating Rio first as an iron ore stock, and only then as a copper growth story. 8
