U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December
By the end of 2020, sales reached a pace not seen in 14 years
Newly released transcripts show that many Federal Reserve officials had concerns at the time
Inflation has been dormant for most of the past decade, allowing the Fed to push interest rates to ultra-low levels
Since June, the Fed has been buying $120 billion in bonds each month
The decline reflected a big drop in consumer expectations for income, business and labour market conditions
Americans have been spending freely on goods while cutting back sharply on purchases in the service sector
Lack of further economic aid from the government could spell disaster
Spending by Americans plunged 13.6% in April, after 6.9% slide in March
Finance and insurance was among the only sectors to grow