美国个人资产净值上升 为消费蓄势

The net worth of Americans rose for the second consecutive time during the third quarter, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a report Thursday that showed evidence of an important step towards restoring the spending power of U.S. consumers.

The Fed said total net worth of households increased 5.0% in the July-to-September period, to $53.42 trillion from $50.76 trillion in the second quarter.

Net worth is the value of assets such as homes, stocks and investments minus liabilities, including mortgages and credit cards.

The rise in wealth should help consumers--a key growth engine for the U.S. economy--to rebuild their finances and to start spending again. Still, household wealth remains well below the $65 trillion peak hit two years ago, before the recession began and before stock markets hit their high.

'Overall, this was an encouraging report, showing that households are repairing their balance sheets, thereby supporting future consumer spending,' said Michelle Meyer, economist at Barclays Capital.

The U.S. economy is slowly emerging from its worst downturn in decades. The economy expanded by an annualized 2.8% in the third quarter, the first increase in more than a year, lifted by higher consumer spending.

The Fed data showed financial assets July through September climbed 5.6%. Climbing stock market prices this year have fattened portfolios beaten by the Wall Street crisis in the autumn of 2008.

The Fed's quarterly 'flow of funds' data showed U.S. non-financial debt rose at a 2.8% annual rate July through September. It went up 4.5% in the second quarter.

Household net worth in the third quarter climbed to about 4.86 times disposable personal income, from a second-quarter ratio of about 4.63 times income.

U.S. household debt decreased at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter, the fifth drop in a row. Home mortgage debt slid 3.6% and consumer credit fell 3.2%.

美联储(Federal Reserve)周四报告显示，第三季度美国人资产净值连续第二个季度上升。这说明美国消费者朝着购买力的恢复迈出了重要一步。

美联储报告显示，7-9月份，家庭资产净值增长5%，从第二季度50.76万亿美元增长到53.42万亿美元。

资产净值，是指房产、股票和投资等资产的价值减去房贷、信用卡等负债。

财富的上升，应有助于消费者重建财务、重启消费，而消费是美国经济的关键增长引擎。但家庭财富仍然低于两年前达到的峰值65万亿美元，当时衰退还没有开始，股市也还没有触顶。

巴克莱资本(Barclays Capital)经济学家梅耶(Michelle Meyer)表示，从总体上来看，报告鼓舞人心，显示出家庭正在修复资产负债表，从而为将来的消费支出提供支持。

美国经济正在缓慢走出几十年来最严重的衰退。受消费支出增加带动，第三季度按年率计算的经济增长速度是2.8%，为一年多以来首次实现扩张。

美联储的数据显示，7-9月份家庭金融类资产价值增长5.6%。今年股价的上涨，弥补了2008年秋季金融危机造成的投资损失。

美联储的季度“资金流动”数据显示，7-9月份，美国非金融债务总额按年率计算增长2.8%。第二季度的增长速度是4.5%。

第三季度家庭资产净值与个人可支配收入的比例约为4.86倍，高于第二季度约为4.63倍的比例。

按年率计算，第三季度美国家庭债务下降2.6%，连续第五个季度下降。住房抵押贷款债务下降3.6%，消费信贷下降3.2%。