The global speculative default rate ticked up slightly in April says Moody’s Investors Service in a new report.

The rating agency reports that the 12-month global speculative-grade default rate came in at 2.6% in April, up from a revised rate of 2.5% in March.

“Corporate defaults continue to be very stable and track the modest pace we have expected,” said Albert Metz, managing director of credit policy research at Moody’s.

Four Moody’s-rated corporate debt issuers defaulted last month, pushing the number to 25 for the year to date. Of those, 15 defaults have come in the US, eight have been in Europe, and there were two in Latin America.

Based on its forecasting model, Moody’s now expects the global speculative-grade default rate to finish 2013 at 2.9% and to start heading lower after that, returning to 2.5% in April 2014. It continues to expect default rates to be highest in the media: advertising, printing & publishing sector in the US, and the hotel, gaming & leisure sector in Europe.

Moody’s also reports that its global distressed index fell to 8.0% in April from 8.8% in March. A year ago, the index was at 17.0%.