/ 05 10 / 05 08 / 05 06 / 05 04 / 05 * 24 months expectations is available from may 2006 onwards. source : cbt distinguished guests, in the january inflation report, we envisaged a correction in food inflation justified by more favorable weather conditions. however, the long - awaited correction in food prices has not yet materialized. processed food inflation has accelerated even further on the back of rising global demand and elevated agricultural commodity prices. at this point, global perceptions regarding the persistency of the increases in agricultural commodity prices in the medium term have become stronger. in this conjuncture, the analysis of the forecasts for world food prices and their impacts on domestic food prices bears great importance. in this respect, we included the summary of a particular study in the inflation report. the said study analyzes in detail the price developments observed in food products, determines their relative impacts by excluding the determinants of domestic food prices and accordingly makes assessments for the future. as stated in the study, the reinforcement of global perceptions regarding the persistency of the increases in agricultural commodity prices in the medium term indicates that upward risks on domestic food prices and especially on processed food prices will continue in the foreseeable future. in this framework, we revised our forecasts for medium term inflation to incorporate more conservative assumptions on food prices and we have raised our assumptions for food inflation to 13 percent for the year 2008 and 8 percent for the year 2009. these changes have led to upward revisions in our inflation forecasts, by about 1. 2 points for 2008 and 1. 1 points for 2009. the assumption on oil prices in the january inflation report stood at usd 85 per barrel. however, oil prices averaged about usd 100 in the first quarter of 2008. considering the most recent developments, we have revised our assumption for oil prices to usd 105 per barrel. moreover, we assume that electricity tariffs will be adjusted as required by the automatic pricing mechanism. these changes imply upward revisions in our forecasts by 0. 9 points for end - 2008, and 0. 4 points for end - 2009. although weak domestic demand should limit the second round effects of the exchange rate pass - through, the first round impact of the recent depreciation is estimated to be close to 2percentage points at the end of 2008, which implies further upward revision in our forecasts. within the framework that i have drawn up so far, we now forecast inflation to be around 9. 3 percent at the end of 2008.

, supported by firm commodity prices, high employment levels, and the effect of the cumulative easing in monetary policy. we at the bank project that the canadian economy will grow by 1. 4 per cent this year, 2. 4 per cent in 2009, and 3. 3 per cent in 2010. the emergence of excess supply in the economy should keep inflation below 2 per cent through 2009. both core and total inflation are projected to move up to 2 per cent in 2010 as the economy moves back into balance. there are both upside and downside risks to the bank's new projection for inflation ; these risks appear to be balanced. in line with this outlook, some further monetary stimulus will likely be required to achieve the inflation target over the medium term. given the cumulative reduction in the target for the overnight rate of 150 basis points since december, including the 50 - basis - point reduction announced last week, the timing of any further monetary stimulus will depend on the evolution of the global economy and domestic demand, and their impact on inflation in canada. with that, paul and i would now be pleased to answer your questions.