The growth of household debt accelerated in September, with all the major forms of borrowing rising, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
Total household credit liabilities rose by $10.5 billion in the month to just shy of $3.0 trillion, the national statistical agency said in a report released Tuesday.
The monthly debt growth rate accelerated to 0.4% from 0.3% in August — reflecting the rise in household mortgage debt, which also grew at a 0.4% rate in September, up from 0.3% the previous month.
Non-mortgage debt also accelerated, rising at a 0.3% rate in September, up from 0.1% in August.
These increases came against the backdrop of the Bank of Canada continuing to cut its policy rate, which was down by 25 basis points in the month to 4.25%, and has since been cut to 3.75%.
StatCan reported that mortgage debt grew by $8.0 billion in September, while credit card debt was up $0.8 billion, balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) rose by $0.7 billion, and other forms of household borrowing were up by $1.0 billion.
Credit card debt rose by 0.7% in the month, while HELOCs were up 0.4%, and the rise in other forms of borrowing reversed a monthly decline in August.