ATHENS (AFP) -- The Greek economy will show growth of around 4.0 percent this year, but the maintaining the pace depends on government steps to secure price stability and implement structural reform, the head the central bank said.

Average annual inflation is expected to fall to 2.8 percent from 3.3 percent in 2006, while the current account deficit is forecast at 11.5 percent of GDP, Bank of Greece governor Nikolaos Garganas said in presenting the bank's annual report.

Growth in 2006 averaged at "at least" 4.2 percent, Greek Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis said on Tuesday, against a forecast of 3.8 percent.

Growth of around four percent is consistent with a decade average of 4.1 percent, which Garganas described as one of the best in Greek annals.

"This was one of the best decades (in terms of growth) for many decades," the BoG governor told a news conference.

"The goal is to sustain it ... if you do not secure price stability, you pay for it in terms of productivity, and you will reach a point where a high growth rate can no longer be sustained," he said.

Greece's eurozone membership affords it monetary stability, yet inflation in the country remains high -- last recorded at 2.7 percent year-on-year in January -- partly because of lack of competition in some Greek sectors, Garganas told reporters.

The Greek competition commission recently penalized petroleum providers for price-fixing on aircraft fuel, and is currently investigating reports of cartel practices in the dairy industry, the BoG noted.

The governor said authorities also needed to revise the Greek tax and education systems to bolster employment, which has consistently failed to keep up with Greece's high growth rate.

Garganas advised Greek households to exercise moderation when taking on bank loans, for although BoG studies show that 80 percent of households borrow within their income capacity, one in five is currently below the poverty line.