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December 12, 2006 1:00 AM, EST

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ederal Reserve policy makers will likely leave their benchmark interest rate unchanged when they meet Tuesday afternoon, Bloomberg reported.

The Federal Open Market Committee will keep the rate at 5.25%, according to all 101 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, extending the break from two years of increases that ended in June.

The Fed will probably signal that economy is not slowing enough to diminish the risk of higher inflation, Bloomberg said.

An expanding labor market and rising incomes have kept Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues focused on inflation, even as manufacturing contracts and home sales continue to slump, Bloomberg said.