W. Germans Seen Ready to Cut Rates: Bonn Seen Ready To Reduce Rates
The West German Bundesbank is now ready to lower its interest rates in a coordinated action with the United States, an authoritative central bank source said yesterday.</br></br>The official said that JapanÛªs acquiescence in a joint German-Amer-ican interest-rate move was not a necessary condition. However, other officials said that it is likely that Japan would join in a general interest-rate. reduction.</br></br>The three nations lowered interest rates together in March. In the spring, the United States, and Japan lowered rates, while the West Germans withheld action. And then in</br></br>July, the Federal Reserve lowered the U.S. discount rate from 6V2 to 6 percent, but neither Japan nor West Germany joined the move.</br></br>The apparent shift in West German policy comes after recent meetings between Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl and Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker. Volcker was in Frankfurt last weekend to attend the funeral of Otmar Emminger, the former chairman of the Bundesbank, West GermanyÛªs central bank.