A rebounding stock market and massive federal aid payments pushed the net worth of US households back to pre-coronavirus levels in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported on Monday, with savings accounts and equity portfolios both rising sharply despite the pandemic.
The Fed reported that when the second quarter ended in June, household net worth – the value of homes, stock investments and other assets less what is owed on mortgages and other loans – had hit US$118.9 trillion , a US$7.6 trillion jump from the prior quarter and above the US$118.5 trillion from the last quarter of 2019.
But it also included a US$700 billion increase in savings among households and non-financial businesses, many of which benefited from enhanced unemployment benefits. The flow of assistance also helped control household debt levels, which grew at just a 0.5% annualised rate over the quarter, the smallest increase since 2012.