Madrid, Jul 10 (IANS/EFE): Spain's economy should start trending away from negative growth in the third quarter of this year, Bank of Spain Gov. Luis Maria Linde said Tuesday.

A firm forecast is not possible given that "the inflection points in the economy depend on a tenth or a hundredth (of a percentage point) up or down", the central bank chief said during a conference sponsored by accounting firm KPMG and the daily Expansion.

"In the next few months, we will go from negative to positive growth," Linde said.

The reforms to the Spanish financial system are among the factors that will contribute to turning the economy around, Linde said.

The European Union concluded that Spain's financial system does not need more capital and that "is very good", the central bank chief said.

The European economy remains weak, but Spain's numbers have been moving in the right direction, Linde said.

Spain has been mired in a deep recession since 2008 due to the financial crisis caused by the bursting of the real estate bubble.