Brazil increases interest rates

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil's Central Bank says it has raised the country's benchmark lending rate by 0.75 percentage points to 13 percent amid resurgent inflation fears.

"In view of the macroeconomic scenario and in order to bring inflation in line with (established) targets, the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has unanimously decided to increase the interest rate," the Central Bank said in statement Wednesday.

The government has recently raised its inflation target for 2008 to around 6 percent, up from its original target of 4.5 percent.

It was the third consecutive interest hike. The last two increases were of 0.5 percentage points.