Our exposure to losses from derivative financial instruments.
We have used, and will continue to use, derivative financial instruments to manage the risk profile associated with interest rates and currency exposure of our debt, reduce our financing costs, access alternative sources of financing and hedge some of our financial risks. For the year ended December 31, 2008, we had a net loss of approximately R$2,365.8 million (U.S.$1,012.3 million) from financial instruments as compared to a net gain of R$191.6 million (U.S.$108.2 million) in 2007. These losses resulted from a variety of factors (some of which are further described in "Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings—Litigation), including losses related to changes in the fair value of cross currency swaps and other currency derivatives attributable to the variation of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real. To the extent that any of these factors persist in 2009, we may continue to incur net losses from our derivative financial instruments.