COLOMBIA'S ECONOMY EXPANDED 5.75 PERCENT IN THIRD QUARTER

Dec. 22, 2005 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia's economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest pace in 10 years, led by a surge in the construction industry and growing consumer spending.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a country's output of goods and services, grew 5.75 percent from the year- earlier period, following revised growth of 5.62 percent in the second quarter, the national statistics agency said. The third quarter figure was above the median 5.18 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 17 economists.

The Colombian economy has expanded for the past 23 quarters, the agency said. Excluding illicit crops, the economy posted a year-on-year growth rate of 5.83 percent in the third quarter. In the year through September, growth in Latin America's fifth biggest economy accelerated to 5.1 percent, the agency said.