Now I’d like to talk about some of the adjustments that are being made following the recent sharp rise in global demand. The first adjustment is to higher commodity prices. The rapid growth of some emerging-market economies and the strong recovery in the United States are fuelling demand for raw materials. And that, in turn, is pushing up the prices of these raw materials.
Certainly, we have seen the effect of this demand on most commodity prices. Of course, one price increase that we all feel acutely is that of oil. The recent surge in crude oil prices is another example of pressure stemming, at least in part, from strong world demand.