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."