RANDOLPH, MA (AFX) - The U.S. economy should grow moderately in 2001 as a whole, but downside risks "have become more evident" in recent weeks, according to Cathy Minehan, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. "I believe the most likely outcome for the economy in 2001 is moderate growth, that is, in the range of 2-3 pct," Minehan said in a speech on the 2001 economic outlook to the South Shore Chamber of Commerce. Minehan is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year. She will face her first vote on Jan 31 when the FOMC meets to decide whether further interest rate cuts are needed in the wake of the surprise half-percentage-point cut in the federal funds rate on Jan 3. In her speech, Minehan suggested that her views on the economic outlook became more pessimistic late last year. "Through mid-December, my own sense was that the economy might be approaching just the so-called 'soft landing' so often discussed in the media, although with a growing measure of downside risk," Minehan said. "I continue to believe moderate growth for the coming year as a whole is the most likely outcome, but in recent weeks those risks have become more evident," she said. Minehan said some of the economic slowdown in the second half of last year was needed. In addition, "sources of strength" remain in the economy, she said.