Global downturn hit Greek economy in Q2- fin min

Greece's economic growth slowed to around 3.3 percent in the second quarter as it succumbed to a global slowdown, the finance minister said, prompting doubts over whether it would make a target of 3.6 percent this year.
George Alogoskoufis said high international prices had also curbed the purchasing power of Greek consumers, which has helped to underpin several years of growth above the European Union average in the eastern Mediterranean country.
"The available data shows that second-quarter GDP growth ranged between 3.2-3.3 percent, versus 3.6 percent in the first quarter", Alogoskoufis told industrialists at a conference in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Monday.
"The European economy has been negatively affected by the international economy's deceleration and the big revaluation of the euro versus the dollar," the minister said.
He said, however, Greece's economy was better placed to withstand the international turbulence than some of its European partners.
"Greece's economy, due to reforms that took place in previous years and the dynamic it has developed, is more resilient than other European countries in this extremely difficult international environment," he told the conference, describing the growth rate as "satisfactory".
He made no reference to the government's revised 2008 growth target of 3.6 percent. In April, Alogoskoufis reduced this from 4.0 percent, citing a poor global economic outlook.
Analysts, however, said the announcement suggested Greece — which makes up around 2.5 percent of the euro zone economy — was not immune to the world economic slowdown.
"It will be difficult for the government to achieve the 3.6 percent target for the whole year … The international environment is more gloomy than some people may have thought," said an economist at a major Greek bank, who asked not to be identified. (Reuters)