Re the hedging example you gave, it is essentially a "guarantee"...

Re the hedging example you gave, it is essentially a "guarantee" AMU took out with their financier. From 1 Jan 08 to 31 May 08 AMU for 127k barrels of oil AMU will get no more than US$90 per barrel and no less than US$52 per barrel.

So, if the price of oil rises on a sustained basis above the US$90 level AMU would lose out. If below the US$52 they win. If in between there is no net impact.

MJS