ECB'S Noyer doesn't see domino effect in euro-zone

TOKYO (Reuters) - Greece's debt crisis will not lead to a domino effect in the euro-zone as the problems that other countries like Portugal face are different in nature, European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer was quoted by Japan's Nikkei business daily as saying.

Noyer also said debt restructuring involving cuts to principal was not the answer to the Greek debt crisis, the Nikkei reported, a view shared by Greece and other ECB officials.

The Nikkei interviewed Noyer while he was in Japan last week.

Restructuring Greece's sovereign debt would hurt the private sector as the bulk of the debt is held by its banks and insurance firms, causing a vicious cycle of debt restructuring and deterioration in the country's financial sector, he was quoted as saying in the interview.

One year into its EU/IMF 110-billion euro bailout, Greece is struggling with weak revenues and deep recession, fuelling speculation that it will have to restructure its debt to pull itself out of the fiscal mess that triggered a euro zone crisis.

Greece and European Central Bank officials have ruled out any kind of restructuring but the chairman of the 17-country Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said last week Greece may have to move towards a "soft restructuring" of its debt.

Noyer called for drastic reform to solve the Greek debt problems, which he said were more severe than those of Ireland and Portugal, the Nikkei reported.

He said Portugal's fiscal problems could not be described as tragic and that its debt situation could be fixed with the help of traditional IMF measures.

Noyer also said Ireland's situation would stabilise in the near future as its economy has returned to a stable growth path.

On inflation, Noyer said he was watching with caution whether commodity price hikes could have knock-on effects on euro zone prices and wages, although inflationary pressures were relatively low at the moment when energy and food prices are excluded.

Energy costs pushed up euro zone inflation in April, but core prices jumped as well, confirming ECB concerns about rising inflationary risks and adding to the case for more interest rate hikes.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)