US household wealth grows steadily in Q4

American households accumulated their wealth at a faster pace in the last quarter of 2013 driven by returns in equity and real estate investment, a report has said.

The US Federal Reserve said in a report Thursday the net worth of households -- the difference between the value of assets and liabilities -- was $80.7 trillion at the end of 2013, about $3 trillion more than at the end of the third quarter, reported Xinhua.

For 2013 as a whole, net worth increased $9.8 trillion, or 14 percent, driven largely by increase in the value of directly and indirectly held corporate equities and increase in the value of real estate.

Household debt edged up at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, sharply down from a 3-percent increase in the previous quarter, showing Americans are less willing to lend.

Home mortgage debt contracted 1 percent, following an increase of 1 percent in the third quarter, as mortgage rates edged up. Rising household wealth drove up consumer credit to grow at an annual rate of 5.4 percent, about half a percentage point lower than in the previous quarter.