U.S. household wealth hits record in Q3

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. household wealth rose to record high in the third quarter of this year, as rising stock and housing prices boosted the value of their wealth.

The net worth of households and nonprofits rose to 96.9 trillion U.S. dollars in the third quarter, an increase of 1.7 trillion dollars from the previous quarter, said the Federal Reserve on Thursday. The growth was larger than the 1.3 trillion dollars of increase in the second quarter of this year.

According to the Fed data, household's wealth in corporate equities increased 1.1 trillion dollars in the quarter, and their wealth in real estate rose 0.4 trillion dollars.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four percent in the third quarter and now is standing near a record high this month.

Meantime, household debt increased at an annual rate of 3.7 percent to 15.1 trillion dollars in the third quarter. Enditem