By Bob Willis
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Household wealth in the U.S. increased by $2 trillion in the second quarter, bringing an end to the biggest slump on record.
Net worth for households and non-profit groups climbed to $53.1 from $51.1 trillion in the first quarter, marking the first gain since the third quarter of 2007, according to the Federal Reserve’s Flow of Funds report today in Washington. The government began keeping quarterly records in 1952.
The advance reflected the biggest quarterly jump in stock prices since 1998 and the first increase in home values in more than two years. Together with increased savings and less debt, the gain in wealth is part of the mending process consumers will undergo in coming years before spending can gain speed.
“A lot of wealth has been lost in this recession, but it looks increasingly like the worst is over for many Americans,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. “Consumers are in a better place than they were at the turn of the year as their portfolios have stopped hemorrhaging.”