European steel confederation EUROFER has welcomed the withdrawal of BHP Billiton's hostile offer for rival Rio Tinto.

A spokesman said that "This is good news; not only for European steel industry and worldwide steel industry but for the whole global economy.”

The spokesman said that "This is not the idea of a market-based approach the European Union is thinking of. Now we can be sure that the market concentration is not going any further and this is insurance that the prices will be less influenced than they could have with the merger.”

Top global miner BHP Billiton dropped a USD 66 billion hostile offer for Rio Tinto, the latest casualty of a global crisis that has frozen credit markets and hit demand for raw materials.

Asked what Eurofer believed the reasons were for the withdrawal, the spokesman said that "The statement of objection of the European Commission is certainly the main reason for that."

The spokesman said that "The commission, it seems, would never allow a merger of this magnitude. So there is no way for BHP to have this merger unless they fulfill certain conditions of European Commission.”