POEHL SPEAKS AGAINST GERMAN INTEREST RATE CUT
  Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl said
  West Germany would be badly advised to lower interest rates and
  that he believed the economy would continue to recover after a
  six-month lull.
      Asked by the newspaper Bild am Sonntag if lower interest
  rates could boost the domestic economy, Poehl said: "We would be
  badly advised if we forced further interest rate cuts.
      "This could, under certain circumstances, release new
  inflationary fears which would then be more likely to lead to
  higher interest rates," he added.
  
      Poehl said Germany had practically no growth in the past
  six months because of the mark's surge and the cold winter.
      "But since April, statistics clearly show that the economy
  finds itself on a course of growth," he said. "I expect this
  development to continue in the coming months."
      Asked about his expectations of a U.S.-European Community
  trade war, Poehl said such an event would be disastrous.
      "For this reason we in Europe must avoid everything used by
  protectionist forces in the U.S. As pretexts," he added. "This
  includes...Eliminating existing restrictions in the EC as far
  as possible. Protectionism is not found only in the U.S."
  

