BHP Billiton sees early signs of commodity markets recovery

Melbourne

BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's biggest mining company, sees early signs that commodity markets are rebalancing, with oil and natural gas best placed to deliver gains into 2018.

"Fundamentals suggest both oil and gas markets will improve over the next 12 to 18 months," chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said on Wednesday in the company's first-quarter production report. "Iron ore and metallurgical coal prices have been stronger than expected, although we continue to expect supply to grow more quickly than demand in the near term."