Colombia's economy grew 2.8pc in first quarter on year: statistics agency

Growth in the first quarter was unchanged compared with the fourth quarter, said Juan Daniel Oviedo, the head of the DANE agency, during a presentation.

Policymakers in the Andean country have held the central bank's benchmark interest rate at 4.25pc for more than a year in a bid to encourage consumer spending while trying to keep inflation from creeping higher.