Breaking to the upside - BHP Deal Close?, page-5

And here's the reason why cbe turned green today.. and why it's in BHP's interest to close the deal;

BHP's EBITDA decline was driven largely by weaker realised iron ore and steelmaking coal prices, which was partially offset by higher realised copper prices.

Speaking of copper, it was arguably the star of the show for BHP during the first half. Underlying copper EBITDA was up 44% to US$5 billion, which helped to limit the damage from a 26% decline in underlying iron ore EBITDA to US$7.2 billion.

This strong form means that copper now contributes 39% of group underlying EBITDA, which is up from 25% a year ago. Management advised that this reflects a 10% increase in copper volumes and higher copper prices.