BHP Billiton Ltd. (BH.AU) Chief Executive Marius Kloppers said Wednesday the miner expects commodity prices to stabilize in the next three to six months, but does not expect to a sharp rebound.

"We do expect to see stabilization in the next three to six months as the OECD finds its new base demand level and short-term stock issues in China are resolved," he said in the text of a speech delivered at the Minerals Week conference in Canberra

"We, however, do not expect a sharp rebound as our view is that overall world economic recovery will be slow and protracted."

Kloppers said the U.S. economy still poses downside risks and Japan is looking particularly weak but that recent trends in China give some cause for "cautious optimism" although the ability of the Chinese government's stimulus package to offset declining exports remains unclear.

Kloppers said BHP believes early action on climate change will deliver benefits but that a global regime is needed to provide certainty for investment in carbon reduction to occur while still promoting economic growth.

-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094; alex.wilson@dowjones.com