ATHENS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Greece said on Wednesday it takes into account the rating agencies' reports but has its own strategy to reduce its excessive budget deficit.
"We seriously take into account any international appraisal that concerns and influences our country," Greece's finance ministry said in a statement. "But we have our own strategy and we stick to it," it added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Greece suffered the second consecutive downgrade of its credit rating as Standard & Poor's cut the indebted nation's rating by a notch to BBB-plus from A-minus. (Reporting by Harry Papachristou; Editing by Dan Grebler)