Canadians’ financial health showed a slight improvement in the tail end of 2013, a development that will help the Bank of Canada to maintain its low-interest-rate policy, reports CTV News.
According to a new release from Statistics Canada, nationwide household values increased by 3 per cent to $217,700 on a per capita basis in the fourth quarter of 2013, a direct result of a 5.9 per cent rise in the value of shares and other equities held by Canadians.
The average national net worth rose 2.7 per cent to $7.7 trillion to $218,500 on a per capita basis, representing a gain of 2.5 per cent gain over results from the previous quarter.
The report added that national net foreign debt showed a significant drop, falling by $98.1 billion, placing Canada into a net asset position of $26.7 billion.
However, the report also showed that household debt in the fourth quarter of last year grew at its slowest observed pace since 2001, which pushed the debt-to-disposable income ratio down to 164 per cent.
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