June 15, 2012 - 9:02 AM
OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the country's net worth rose two per cent to $6.7 trillion in the first quarter, the largest quarterly growth rate since the third quarter of 2008.
On a per capita basis, national net worth expanded to $193,500 in the first quarter from $190,200 in the previous quarter.
The advance in national net worth was driven by higher asset values, as national wealth increased 1.5 per cent to $6.9 trillion, while net foreign debt was $0.2 trillion, a 13 per cent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2011.
Household net worth was up 1.8 per cent in the first quarter, led by gains in the value of household holdings of equities.
Meanwhile, growth in household credit market debt slowed in the first quarter to 0.9 per cent as people borrowed less.
The agency says the gains in household assets pushed the ratio of credit market debt to net worth down to 24.9 per cent in the first quarter from 25.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012