Mexico cenbank chief sees 1st qtr growth over 3 pct

MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Reuters) - Mexican Central Bank Governor Guillermo Ortiz said on Friday he expected the Mexican economy had grown more than 3 percent in the first quarter of 2008, and saw inflationary pressures persisting for now.

"I would say that the first quarter has been surprisingly good," Ortiz told a business conference, citing recent retail and industrial production data.

He said while the central bank was worried about the U.S. downturn, its duty was to keep medium-term inflation expectations anchored. He saw Mexican inflation coming down at the end of the year. (Reporting by Luis Rojas and Jason Lange; Editing by James Dalgleish)