Miners Are Sending Mixed Super-Cycle Messages
BHP, Glencore and Rio Tinto see gains ahead as the world’s economy recovers from Covid-19. Yet not all their actions mirror market excitement.
Rio Tinto loads up iron ore and profit.
Photographer: Aaron Bunch/Getty
Are we on the verge of another commodities super-cycle? Maybe, big diggers tell us this week.
Rio Tinto on Wednesday became the third heavyweight in two days to report a bumper profit and an investor bonanza, with better-than-expected full-year underlying earnings of $12.4 billion, up by a fifth, plus a special dividend that took the total for the year to $9 billion. It adds to the optimism reported by Glencore, which reinstated its payout and said a greener post-pandemic recovery would fuel demand for its metals. BHP, like Rio a major producer of steel ingredients, pointed to robust Chinese demand and an improving economic trajectory elsewhere — key preconditions for further price improvements.