Kiev  - The World Bank on Friday revised upwards Ukraine's predicted inflation rate for 2008 to 21.5 per cent, the Interfax news agency reported.

The bank had been predicting 17 per cent inflation, but galloping food and energy prices made that expectation unrealistic, said Ruslan Piontovsky, a bank spokesman.

The bank also suggested overall Ukrainian GDP growth will be at a relatively strong 6 per cent on the strength of demand for key Ukrainian export products such as steel, foodstuffs, and chemicals.

But growth would fall to between 4 and 5 per cent during 2009 and 2010, Pointkovsky said.

World Bank performance predictions are widely-relied on by observers of the Ukrainian economy, because of questions over figures published by the Ukrainian government.

Ukraine's current government, led by populist Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, last month predicted annual inflation at less than 10 per cent, and even price deflation in the latter half of 2008.

Independent agencies the World Bank included have suggested such figures are overly optimistic. (dpa)