Policy-makers at the US Federal Reserve all expressed concerns about the inflation risks, according to minutes of their deliberations released yesterday.

The minutes from the January 30-31 meeting showed all the policy-makers believed a failure of inflation to moderate as expected could impair the long-term performance of the economy.

"All meeting participants expressed some concern about the outlook for inflation," the minutes related.

"To be sure, incoming data had suggested some improvement in core inflation, and a further gradual decline was seen as the most likely outcome, fostered in part by the continued stability of inflation expectations."

"However, participants did not yet see a downtrend in core inflation as definitively established," according to the minutes.

At their last month's regular policy-making meeting, Fed policy-makers left a key short-term interest rate alone at 5.25 percent for the fifth consecutive time.

Wholesale prices rose by 1.8 percent in November and 0.9 percent in December as a result of a jump in energy costs in the two months.

Food prices increased by 1.1 percent in January following a 1.5percent gain in December. Increases in the price of fish, chicken and beef were offset by declines in the cost of fruits and vegetables.

Excluding volatile energy and food, the core wholesale prices rose by a modest 0.2 percent in January, following a similar gain in December.