It's been a pretty decent start to the week for ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far today. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained a healthy 0.45% to back over 6,920 points. But the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is doing even better than that.
Rio shares are up pleasing 2.82% so far today to $95.42 each, a gain worth several-fold more of what the broader markets have delivered. So what's going on with Rio shares that have gotten investors so excited this Monday?
Why is the Rio Tinto share price shooting the lights out today?
Well, the first thing to note is that it's not just Rio Tinto that is enjoying some time in the sun today. Most ASX mining shares have also risen strongly. The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up more than 4% today, while Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) is up 2.2%, and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) shares have gained 3.3%.
This follows a strong rally in commodity prices over the weekend. As my Fool colleague covered this morning, WTI crude rose 5% to US$92.1 per barrel, while Brent crude lifted 4.1% to US$98.57. Gold also rose 2.8% to US$1,676.60 per ounce. Iron ore, Rio Tinto's primary commodity, also performed strongly. It rose by 4.78% to US$87.30 per tonne.
This might have had something to do with speculation that China could be about to alter its growth-sapping zero-COVID policy.
Miners like Rio tend to rise and fall on the prices of the commodities that they produce. So it's no surprise that most ASX resources shares are reacting so well to these higher prices during today's ASX session. And with iron ore rising close to 5%, there was little chance that the Rio Tinto share price wouldn't get an invite to the party.
Even so, Rio Tinto shares remain down by 4.44% over 2022 thus far. At the current Rio share price, this ASX 200 mining giant has a market capitalisation of $34.44 billion, with a trailing dividend yield of 10.1%
