Client margin debt continued to erode slightly in May, according to the latest numbers from the Investment Dealers Association of Canada.

The IDA said that outstanding debt in client margin accounts slipped a little to just under $6.6 billion by the end of May, to $6.59 billion. This is down from just over $6.7 billion at the end of April.

This small drop takes margin debt down to its lowest level of 2003, after it ticked up a little from March’s $6.62 billion. May’s reading is also only slightly above the recent low of $6.58 billion in October 2002, when the market last retested its recent lows.

Borrowing is well off from its high of $11.9 billion in September 2000, which coincided with the market’s high, too.