March 18, 2006	Saturday	Safar 17, 1427

WASHINGTON, March 17: The US Federal Reserve is likely to wrap up its campaign to boost interest rates by midyear at the latest as economic risks shift from inflation to slower growth, a panel of bank economists said on Friday.

The American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee said it expects the Fed to raise overnight interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 4.75 per cent at its meeting on March 27-28. It said another increase at the next policy meeting in May was likely.

“The balance of risk is shifting from inflation to slower growth,” said Robert McGee, chief economist at US Trust Co. in New York and chairman of the ABA panel. “The full impact of the past year’s tightening has yet to be felt, which should raise a caution flag for the Fed.”

—AFP