LISBON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Portugal expects economic growth of at least 6.7% this year, beating its 6.5% forecast on the back of domestic demand and tourism, helping the country further slash one of Europe's heaviest public debt burdens, its finance minister told Reuters. "Even if (quarter-on-quarter) growth is zero in the fourth quarter, we're going to have a growth rate of 6.7% in 2022, one of the highest in Europe," Medina said. Growth accelerated to 0.4% in the third quarter from the previous quarter's 0.1% as private consumption unexpectedly rose despite inflation at three-decade highs. Despite a worrying fast rise in rates, Medina expects Portugal to avoid a spike in bad loans of households thanks to measures such as a recent decree ordering banks to renegotiate mortgages of up to 300,000 euros for vulnerable families. ($1 = 0.9626 euros)Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Aislinn Laing, editing by Andrei Khalip and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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