U.S. household net worth drops 3.7 trillion USD in Q4 of 2018

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. household net worth at the end of 2018 recorded 104.3 trillion U.S. dollars, down by 3.7 trillion dollars from the third quarter, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

That equaled a drop of roughly 3.5 percent from the third quarter, and it was "the largest drop in net worth since the financial crisis," according to CNBC.

The value of directly and indirectly held corporate equities decreased 4.6 trillion dollars, while the value of real estate edged up by 0.3 trillion dollars, the Fed said in a report.

Analysts believe that the decline in household net worth in the fourth quarter was largely due to stock market's turbulence during that period.

The household net worth at the end of 2018 was up 43.9 trillion dollars, or 72.7 percent from that of 2009, according to the Fed report.

Household debt increased 2.9 percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter, down from 3.6 percent in the prior quarter, while non-financial business debt rose at an annual rate of 3.8 percent, slightly down from a 3.9 percent annual rate in the previous quarter, the Fed said.

Federal government debt increased 2.5 percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2018, down from a 6.8 percent annual rate in the previous quarter.

State and local government debt contracted at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, after contracting at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the previous quarter.