Seoul  - Rising oil prices have led South Korea to revise downwards its growth predictions for 2008, the Finance Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday.

In the current year the economy will grow by between 4.5 per cent and 5 per cent, the ministry said. Previously the growth rate had been predicted to be 6 per cent. Asia's fourth biggest economy grew at 4.9 per cent last year and 5 per cent the year before.

"Price hikes of oil, grains and other raw materials coupled with a global slowdown and worsening external economic conditions are serving as serious downside risks to growth," the ministry said in a statement.

South Korea's Central Bank and most of the economic forecast institutes have predicted that high oil prices and global financial problems would make a growth rate of more than 5 per cent unattainable this year. (dpa)