FOMC Minutes Show Fed May Slow Rate Hikes

November 22, 2005 2:30 PM, EST

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he Federal Reserve may be close to ending an 18-month series of interest rate increases, according to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee Nov. 1 meeting, which were released Tuesday.

And the increase in prices, particularly energy, could foreshadow a possible slowdown in consumer spending, the FOMC minutes said.

"While [FOMC] participants noted some recent favorable data on core inflation and labor costs, upside rists to the outlook for underlying inflaction remained a key concern,” the minutes stated.

The meeting was the seventh of eight FOMC meetings scheduled for this year. The final meeting is set for Dec. 13.