Iron ore prices have continued to slump, causing Rio Tinto's first-half profits to fall to a five-year low.

The Zhitong Finance APP learned that the world's largest iron ore producer, Rio Tinto (RIO.US), announced on Wednesday the lowest first-half underlying profit in five years. The reason is that the price of iron ore has remained low due to concerns about oversupply and weak demand, offsetting the growth in profitability of its copper business. Data shows that in the six months ending on June 30, Rio Tinto's underlying profit was $4.81 billion, lower than the market's expectation of $5.05 billion, and also the worst first-half performance since 2020.