From the producers' point of view, the answer is yes, at least in the short run. Since low prices failed to spark additional demand, the only option producers have to reduce losses is to cut production, which at least promises higher realisation from whatever is sold. If one were to simply go by the track record, a strict control over supply is possible, but only when the producers are united.Take aluminium. When international aluminium prices were under pressure in the early part of this decade, the major aluminium producing countries agreed to curtail production. This helped an initial recovery in prices which was further aided when demand showed some improvement. And the current prices warrant the repetition of such an arrangement. But its success in the long run would entirely depend on the demand scenario six to nine months hence. Continued lack of demand would exert strong pressures on countries to breach agreements. And this is a very plausible scenario if the infusion of money into the Japanese economy does not yield the desired results. The prospects for inflation worldwide therefore remain low.