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To: Peppe who wrote (11562)	5/18/1999 2:29:00 PM
From: Claude Robitaille	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Federal Reserve opted today to leave interest rates alone but said it would consider raising them in the future, citing inflationary pressures. As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee left the federal funds rate at 4.75. But it announced it was shifting its bias to tightening rates, from neutral. That means Chairman Alan Greenspan and company are considering raising interest rates in the future to keep inflation in check. It marks the first time the Fed has announced its sentiments immediately after a meeting, in a move toward greater openness. As expected, the committee opted not to raise the federal funds rate, the target for the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. The fed funds rate has been at 4.75 since November, its lowest rate since 1994. Some analysts predicted the Fed might raise interest rates following a surprisingly strong consumer price index report May 14, a sign the economy might be overheating. In a meeting in Washington, the Fed's FOMC, with five voting members, also opted to leave the discount rate at 4.5 percent. The little-used discount rate is the rate for emergency loans from the Fed to banks. All 12 of the presidents of the Federal Reserve's member banks attended the meeting, as did the six Fed governors. The shift in the Fed's monetary policy toward tightening rates came amid concern inflation was creeping into the U.S. economy and with Asian and Latin American markets improving. By tightening rates, the Fed would hope to restrict the flow of money into the U.S. economy. The FOMC next meets to discuss interest rates June 29, and the change in its stance suggests it may raise them then. The markets had been eagerly awaiting the Fed's announcement. In a quiet day's trading, the Dow Jones industrial average had drifted up 47 points by early afternoon, immediately ahead of the announcement shortly after 2 p.m.