It's been a disappointing 30 days for the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price.
Before market open today, Rio Tinto shares are $104.40 apiece, 14.19% lower than this time last month.
For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has tumbled 6.24% in that time.
So, what's driven the iron ore giant to underperform the market recently? Let's take a look.
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What's been going wrong for Rio Tinto stock?
There are two major happenings that have likely been weighing on the Rio Tinto share price lately.
The release of the company's production results for the first quarter of 2022 was the first.
Its production of iron ore and aluminium slumped over the three months ended 31 March, while its copper production recorded an increase.
Still, the company didn't drop its financial year 2022 production guidance on the back of the disappointing quarter.
But that wasn't enough to sate the market. The Rio Tinto share price slid 2.7% following the update on April 20.
Secondly, the price of iron ore is currently sitting at around US$125 a tonne, down from around US$150 a tonne this time last month, according to Trading Economics.
Much of the steel-making ingredient's slump was seemingly due to rising COVID-19 cases in China and resulting continuing lockdowns.
The price of aluminium and copper also tumbled over the period.
Rio Tinto share price snapshot
Rio Tinto's stock is recording a mixed performance over the long term.
It is currently 4.7% higher than it was at the start of 2022. That means it's outperformed the ASX 200 by around 11% this year so far.
However, it has tumbled 17% over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the index has gained 1%.
