http://www.mineweb.com/news/base-metals-and-minerals/commodities-are-dead-long-live-commodities-david-fickling/

"Sorting commodities into capital products that we use once, and operational ones we use again and again, helps make sense of what BHP Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie is up to.

Goldman Sachs reckons Chinese demand for capital commodities has already peaked, but it sees a brighter future for operational goods as rising incomes stoke demand for electronics and cars and thecopper, aluminum and petroleum used to make and fuel them. Mackenzie seems to be thinking along the same lines. After years of relative neglect, base metals (mostly copper) took up a bigger share of BHP’s capex than iron ore and coal put together last year. Petroleum had a bigger slice of the budget than iron ore did at its 2010 peak.

Miners and energy companies have to spend money on one commodity or another if they don’t want their existing reserves to run out, so the shift in BHP’s spending shouldn’t be taken as evidence thatcopper and petroleum are out of the woods just yet. But if you want a guide through the current commodities rout, you’d do well to avoid the hard industrial stuff that boomed in recent years. Stick to what you can find in your house."