Although there has been or will be more than 6 million tons of new annual alumina capacity added over the 2005 and 2006 period, how quickly these new entrants can ramp up to full production is open to question.

There is no comparison with China as India lags behind in terms of development as well as consumption.

The data suggests that China's appetite for imported alumina continues unabated despite domestic alumina capacity increases, which are now expected to add around 2.2 million tons to Chinese alumina production this year.

The interest was just enormous.

There's nothing out there that signals an end to this rally. Supply disruptions and demand growth give funds confidence to keep buying metals.