Global junk bond default rate rises to 1.79 pct-S&P

NEW YORK Aug 14 (Reuters) - The global junk bond default rate rose to 1.79 percent in July from 1.44 percent in June as U.S. financial and real estate firms struggled to keep up with debt payments, Standard & Poor's said on Thursday.

The U.S. default rate rose to 2.37 percent in July from 1.92 percent in June and is likely to rise to 4.9 percent over the next 12 months, S&P said in a release.

(Reporting by Dena Aubin, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama,) (dena.aubin@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6325; Reuters Messaging: dena.aubin.reuters.com@reuters.net))