UPDATE 1-Colombia reports 1st-quarter trade deficit

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BOGOTA, June 5 (Reuters) - Colombia registered a first-quarter trade deficit of $812.1 million compared with a surplus of $163.6 million in the same period a year earlier as export growth slowed, the government said on Tuesday.

Exports for the quarter rose 12.1 percent to $6.11 billion compared with a year earlier, while exports in March climbed 23.9 percent to $2.39 billion from the same month in 2006, the DANE government statistics agency said in a statement.

The deficit for March was $214.5 million compared with a deficit of $94.6 million for the same month in 2006.

Colombia's economy is growing fast, driven by domestic demand and foreign investment. But the soaring peso, which has climbed more than 17 percent against the dollar so far this year, has exporters fretting over competitiveness.

Traditional exports for the quarter rose 4.9 percent with coffee and coal up, but oil and some metals fell compared with the year earlier quarter. Non-traditional exports rose 19.2 percent for the quarter from a year earlier.