Colombian 4% GDP Growth Exceeds 2012 Central Bank Forecast

Colombia’s economy grew more than forecast by the central bank last year on a fourth-quarter rebound in construction, reducing the odds of a fifth straight interest rate cut tomorrow. Bond yields rose.

Gross domestic product expanded 4 percent in 2012, the national statistics agency said in Bogota, compared with the central bank forecast of 3.3 percent to 3.9 percent. The economy grew 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, exceeding the median forecast of 3 percent of 30 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.