The decline in world oil prices is good for the aluminium industry but does not help the national micro-economy, said H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance, and Chairman of Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL).

Due to the slump in oil prices, many aluminium smelters are replacing oil with natural gas and clean coal in running their operations,'' Sheikh Hamdan said in a statement on the sidelines of the 20th Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL), the Middle East’s premier aluminium industry gathering, which opened in Dubai on Tuesday.

''While some global smelters have stopped growing and others plunged into recession, aluminium plants in the UAE and GCC are evolving and expanding into other world markets,'' he noted.

''There is no glut in the UAE market and our prime objective is to market our products,'' Sheikh Hamdan affirmed.

Commenting on the slump in the Chinese economy, he said, ''We have our markets and they have theirs but the race is always on how to produce and distribute products. The demand and supply equation has seen drastic shifts, but the rise and fall in prices is driven by the supply and demand curve."