Australian Shares Up; Rio Tinto Group Reports Lower Q2 Copper Production

Australian shares rose on Wednesday as investors reacted to a slowdown in inflation in the US. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.37%, or 32.60 points, to close at 8,841.10. The US consumer price index fell 0.4% in June, its first decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Brent crude oil futures were trading around $85 per barrel as hostilities continued between the US and Iran. Overnight, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively. In company news, Rio Tinto Group (ASX:RIO) reported a 7% year-over-year decline in the second-quarter consolidated copper production to 213,000 tonnes, while global iron ore production fell 1% to 87.1 million tonnes. Iron ore production at its Pilbara operations during the period remained flat year over year at 83.5 million tonnes, while Pilbara iron ore sales rose 7% to 85.3 million tonnes. Kingsgate Consolidated (ASX:KCN) has restarted processing at Thailand-based Chatree gold mine's Plant 1 at 50% of normal capacity following remediation works and modifications to the plant's processing circuit. Lastly, Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) reported group production of 179,655 ounces of gold for the June quarter. Group production was 182,388.