Fed officials in January saw inflation as continued threat

(AP) Federal Reserve policy-makers saw a lessening of economic threats from the housing slump but continued to worry about inflation as they decided last month to leave existing interest rates intact.

According to minutes of their deliberations released Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues believed that while the slowdown in housing continued to pose a threat to the overall economy, those risks had "diminished somewhat" with statistics indicating the steep slide in housing might be coming to an end.

The central bank, which kept interest rates unchanged at its last meeting, still believed the greatest threat to the economy would occur if policymakers did not succeed in reducing inflation pressures. "All members agreed that the predominant concern remained the risk that inflation would fail to moderate as desired," the minutes of the discussion concluded.