 China has a voracious appetite for metals and raw materials |
Profit at BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, has doubled in the second quarter, driven by surging Chinese demand and rising metal prices. The company also said it was seeing a pick-up in demand in the US and Europe.
Profit was $821m (�434m) in the three months ending 31 December, compared with $359m a year earlier.
The figures topped analyst forecasts and would have been even higher had the US dollar not fallen against currencies including the South African rand.
Boom
China's economy is expanding by an impressive 9% annually and that is boosting demand for steel, aluminium and copper.
Commodity prices, meanwhile, also have increased with analysts predicting that they are likely to stay near current levels in coming months.
BHP Billiton voiced optimism about the outlook for earnings, with chief executive Chip Goodyear saying that "at the current time we see no slowdown in terms of product demand from our end".
During the second quarter, sales jumped by 49% from a year earlier.
China accounted for about 10% of total revenue in the first half of this year, the company said.
One-Minute World News 
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