Central Bank: Default rates rise again, reaching 5% in May.

BRASILIA, June 25 (Reuters) - After remaining stable since the beginning of this year, default rates in Brazil rose again in May, reaching 5 percent, amid higher interest rates and high inflation.

From January to April of this year, delinquency in the credit market stood at 4,8 percent in the segment of freely available funds, the Central Bank reported on Wednesday.

Considering total resources, including directed credit, delinquency also increased in May, to 3,1 percent, after remaining at 3 percent since December 2013.

The Central Bank also reported that the bank spread – the difference between the cost of funds for banks and the rate effectively charged to the final consumer – stood at 20,7 percentage points in May in the free resources segment, above the 20,1 percentage points seen in April. In total credit, the spread rose 0,4 percentage points to 12,9 points.

The average interest rate followed the trend and, in the free resources segment, closed May at 32,0 percent, higher than the 31,7 percent in April and March. In total credit, rates rose to 21,4 percent last month, after standing at 21,1 percent in the two previous months.

Last May, the Central Bank halted the cycle of raising the economy's benchmark interest rates, maintaining the Selic rate at 11 percent per year, after having lowered it from the historic low of 7,25 percent to combat high inflation. (Full Story)

The Central Bank also reported that the total stock of credit in Brazil rose 1 percent in May compared to April, reaching 2,804 trillion reais, or 56,1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

(By Luciana Otoni)