Miner BHP Billiton suffers $6.4 billion loss for 2015-16

BHP said the result for the fiscal year ending June 30 came from a 31 percent fall in revenue to $30.1 billion amid weak commodity prices, write downs of U.S. oil and gas assets and a disaster at a Brazilian mining joint venture.

A dam failure in November at an iron ore mine co-owned by BHP and Vale in Brazil killed 19 people and caused the worst environmental disaster in the country's history.

[...] Gaurau Sodhi, a resource expert with Sydney-based share analysis firm Intelligent Investor, said BHP really needs oil prices to rise to post a better result in the current fiscal year.