MADRID, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Zara owner Inditex said on Wednesday that Spain was "slightly below average" compared to its other markets.

Zara collection 2008

The retailer was asked on an analyst call about how the consumer downturn in Spain was affecting it.

It said it had difficult comparables for this year. It also said it assumed a stable margin for the second half and expected higher like-for-like sales growth in the second half compared to the first half. (Reporting by Judy Macinnes, writing by Sarah Morris)