Colombia's central bank plans to lower its 2012 economic growth estimate at its next policy meeting, most likely tightening the current 4 percent to 6 percent range, its chief said on Tuesday.
Poor retail sales, industrial production data and public works spending in the last few months have forced economic authorities to talk about revising down expansion estimates this year for Latin America's fourth-largest economy.
Central bank chief Jose Dario Uribe told reporters that the body would most likely tighten the growth target although it could also lower it at the next policy meeting on July 27.
"In other words, the 6 percent that's the upper limit is not seen as a reasonable figure; that is, the upper limit is going to be below 6 (percent)," Uribe said.
The Andean nation's economy grew 0.3 percent in the first quarter versus the previous quarter, its slowest rate in over a year, and the central bank thinks that economic growth in the second quarter also slowed.
Policymakers raised the benchmark lending rate 225 basis points over the past year until their first pause in March in a bid to rein in borrowing and cool economic growth.
Colombia's economy expanded a brisk 5.9 percent in 2011 as better security resulting from a decade-long military offensive against guerrilla groups and paramilitaries brought a flood of foreign direct investment into the country.
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