The Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price just capped off a remarkable month.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) miner closed out May trading for $19.22 apiece.
When Friday's closing bell sounded the end of June trading, the Fortescue share price stood at $22.18.
That's a 15.4% monthly gain for Andrew Forest's mining giant, smashing the 1.6% gains posted by the ASX 200.
Here's what happened over the month.
Image source: Getty Images
Iron ore defies predictions of slide
Perhaps the biggest tailwind helping lift the Fortescue share price was a sharp increase in the price of the miner's core revenue-earning commodity.
Namely iron ore.
On 31 May, iron ore was trading for US$100 per tonne.
But iron ore prices trended steadily higher over the month, fuelled by speculation of major stimulus plans from the Chinese government. While some of that has yet to eventuate, June did see the People's Bank of China (PBoC) cut lending rates multiple times.
This helped drive the iron ore price up to US$117 per tonne by 7 June. The steel-making metal ended the month trading for US$113 per tonne, representing a 13% increase in June.
What else impacted the Fortescue share price in June?
There were no price-sensitive announcements from the iron ore miner over the month.
But there were some speculations in the media that may have offered some further tailwinds to the Fortescue share price in the month gone by.
In early June, the enormous growth potential of hydrogen as an energy source was highlighted at the Australian Financial Review's ESG Summit.
Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI) chief development and sustainability officer Andrew Stewart noted that fast-rising demand and limited new supplies could see companies down under waiting two years for electrolysers, which create hydrogen from water.
How might that boost the Fortescue share price?
Via its green offshoot, Fortescue Future Industries, which is constructing what may become the world's largest electrolyser facility in Gladstone.
Later in the month, on 20 June, rumours circulated that Fortescue could be back in the mix of major players interested in acquiring Western Australia energy provided, Alinta Energy. A successful acquisition would see the miner acquire a WA power station and battery storage system.
The Fortescue share price closed up 0.3% on the day.
