European steel and auto industries yesterday accused mining companies of unfair pricing practices following the introduction of a new system for valuing iron ore which will see the cost of the resource nearly double.

Eurofer, which represents European steelmakers, has complained to the European Commission about possible pricing abuses, saying there were “strong indications of illicit coordination of price increases and pricing models and pressure on individual steel producers to accept these changes”.

The appeal to Brussels comes at a sensitive time, since competition officials at both the European Commission and the Bundeskartellamt, Germany's antitrust regulator, are already scrutinising a proposal by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to combine their rich iron ore fields in western Australia.