U.S. Federal Open Market Committee Statement

May 9 (Bloomberg) -- The following is the full text of the
statement released today by the Federal Reserve:

The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its
target for the federal funds rate at 5 1/4 percent.

Economic growth slowed in the first part of this year and
the adjustment in the housing sector is ongoing. Nevertheless,
the economy seems likely to expand at a moderate pace over coming quarters.

Core inflation remains somewhat elevated. Although inflation
pressures seem likely to moderate over time, the high level of
resource utilization has the potential to sustain those pressures.

In these circumstances, the Committee's predominant policy
concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as
expected. Future policy adjustments will depend on the evolution
of the outlook for both inflation and economic growth, as implied
by incoming information.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S.
Bernanke, Chairman; Timothy F. Geithner, Vice Chairman; Thomas M.Hoenig; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Cathy E. Minehan;Frederic S. Mishkin; Michael H. Moskow; William Poole; and Kevin M. Warsh.