South Korea president: oil prices unlikely to rise

SEOUL, Aug 28 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Thursday oil prices would not likely rise from current levels due to sluggish global demand, although he admitted predicting future oil prices was difficult.

"Nobody can predict if (oil prices) will climb again afer stabilising temporarily, but I don't think oil prices will rise from current levels because the world's (major) economies slump and demand is shrinking," Lee said during a scheduled meeting.

A media pool report provided by the presidential office quoted Lee as making the remarks during a meeting with senior economy-related government officials.

The country's central bank raised the policy interest rate to a 7-1/2-year high of 5.25 percent on Aug. 7 to contain gathering inflation expectations, marking the first monetary tightening since August last year.

The Bank of Korea said at that time inflation remained a top concern for the central bank but did not give a clear indication on whether it would soon raise interest rates further. (Reporting by Yoo Choonsik; Editing by Ken Wills)