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M. Continuo

Greek economy posts unexpected growth of 0.8 percent in second quarter


    ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's economy unexpectedly returned to growth in the second quarter despite deadlocked talks with foreign creditors and the threat of a Greek euro zone exit, data showed on Thursday.

    Gross domestic product expanded 0.8 percent from April to June, based on seasonally adjusted data from statistics service ELSTAT. A previously reported 0.2 percent decline in the first quarter was revised upward to 0 percent.

    The second quarter's flash estimate was above market expectations as analysts polled by Reuters were forecasting a 0.8 percent contraction quarter-on-quarter.

    (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, editing by Deepa Babington)