BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, said customers don't expect a global credit crunch to have a "material impact" on demand for raw materials. |
Banks are more reluctant to provide loans after rising US subprime mortgage defaults, which triggered a slump in global stock markets and dragged commodities lower. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index tracking 26 commodities lost 6.2 per cent this month and dropped to a four-month low on August 16. |
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A telephone survey of customers in recent weeks showed there was "undiminished appetite" for metals such as copper, incoming Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers, said today in a conference call from Sydney. "We see demand continuing to be very strong." |
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A five-year rally in industrial metals, which account for about a quarter of BHP's sales, is being driven by expanding demand growth in China, the largest consumer of commodities including metals and coal. As much as 20 per cent of Melbourne-based BHP's commodities are shipped to China, Kloppers said. |
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"Ongoing strength" in emerging Asian economies should support global growth, BHP said today in its full-year earnings statement. Net income rose 28 per cent to $13.4 billion in the 12 months ended June 30. |
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