Euro zone growth may be weaker than hoped: Noyer

(Reuters) - European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Christian Noyer said in an interview released on Sunday euro zone growth might be weaker than hoped as a result of market turmoil but he saw no "big setback."

In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Noyer said French banks' exposure to the U.S. subprime market was lower than others' and the European Union economy should resist financial turmoil better than that of the United States.

"Growth may be weaker than we hoped but I don't see a big setback," Noyer said when asked about the impact of the subprime crisis on the European economy.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet warned after the last rate meeting on February 7 that the euro zone economy might grow slower than potential in 2008.

In December ECB economists forecast 2008 growth of around 2 percent, but a number of ECB policymakers have suggested this might need to be revised down when fresh projections are published in March.

"If we are a little bit below potential, but still close to the average we've had for a number of years... I don't think that makes (structural) reforms impossible," Noyer said in a transcript of the interview released ahead of publication in Monday's edition.

 

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