Interest rates slip in New York, Chicago

Citibank, as expected, lowered its prime rate to 18 percent from 18 1/2 percent Tuesday on the heels of a sharp drop in the money supply and a lower cost of funds. First National Bank of Chicago, ranked ninth in size, immediately followed Citibank, the nation's second-largest bank, to the lower rate. The 18 percent rate is expected to become industrywide this week.