Manufacturers Ask Fed to Cut Rates Again

A manufacturing trade group urged the Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday to cut interest rates again next month to ensure continued economic growth.

Fed officials trimmed the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 5.75%, on July 6, the first reduction since September, 1992. They meet again Aug. 22. (The funds rate is what banks charge each other for overnight loans.)

“Although manufacturers see little chance that the economy will sink into recession, they overwhelmingly favor a further cut in interest rates to stimulate more robust growth,” Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, told reporters.

“With inflation remaining low and no sign that the economy is in danger of overheating, manufacturers believe that keeping interest rates at their current, relatively high levels is not justified,” he said.

Jasinowski released a survey of the association’s 20-member Executive Committee, which predicted slow but sustainable economic growth later this year and through 1996.