Greece's 2015 recession could be shallower than projected

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's economy might contract less this year than projected by the country and its international lenders, Economy Minister George Stathakis said on Wednesday.

With an international bailout in place, Greece's output is forecast to shrink by 2.3 percent this year and by 1.3 in 2016. But Stathakis told Greek lawmakers: "2015 recession ... could be much lower than 2 percent, it could be 1.5 percent."

He said the economy will benefit from a strong performance in tourism and a milder impact than expected from capital controls the country imposed late in June to stem a deposit run.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Catherine Evans)