The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee announced its tentative meeting schedule for 2005 today.

The Fed’s next scheduled meeting is a two-day affair next week, which is expected to produce a 25-basis-point rate increase. This hike is expected to be the first of many small hikes to raise rates from historic lows and stem bubbling inflation.

The first scheduled meeting for 2005 will be a two-day job on Feb. 1-2. It next meets March 22, then not until May 3; another two-day meeting is slated for June 29-30, then again Aug. 9, Sept. 20, Nov. 1 and Dec. 13. Another two-day meeting is planned for the start of 2006, on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.