U.S. household net worth $96.9trn in q3 2017

Rising stock and real estate prices drove U.S. household wealth to $96.9 trillion in the third quarter of this year, a report by the Federal Reserve showed on Thursday.

That compares to a downwardly revised $95.2 trillion net worth for households in the previous quarter.

Household borrowing rose at a 3.7 percent annual rate in the July-September period, the report also showed, slightly down from a 3.8 percent growth rate in the second quarter.

Consumer credit increased 4.9 percent, up from 4.7 percent in the second quarter.

Growth in mortgage debt increased to a 2.7 percent annual rate of 3.0 percent in the prior period.

The U.S. economy is in its third-longest period of growth since World War Two. The U.S. stock market has reached record highs and the unemployment rate is currently at 4.1 percent, near a 17-year low.

Elsewhere in the U.S. central bank’s report, liquid assets held by non-financial firms were $2.36 trillion versus a revised$2.30 trillion in the April-June period.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates for the third time this year at its policy meeting next week.