The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price has started the week deep in the red.
In afternoon trade, the mining giant's shares are down 4.5% to $102.13.
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Why is the Rio Tinto share price falling?
Investors have been selling down the Rio Tinto share price on Monday following a pullback in commodity prices.
For example, according to Bloomberg, a host of base metals dropped on Friday night. This includes an almost 7% decline for the iron ore price and a 2.5% decline for the copper price.
These declines appear to have been sparked by fears that rising rates could lead to a global recession and reduce demand for base metals.
This news isn't just impacting Rio Tinto. Fellow miners BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) have also taken a tumble today. They are down 5% and 7%, respectively, at the time of writing.
All in all, this has led to the S&P/ASX 200 Resources index losing a disappointing 4.6% of its value today. This compares unfavourably to a 0.4% decline by the benchmark ASX 200 index.
All eyes will be on iron ore and other base metals when the London Metal Exchange opens later today.
