Statistics Canada reports household debt-to-income ratio edges lower

Household debt has been identified as a key risk for the Canadian economy. (File Photo)

OTTAWA - The ratio of Canadian household debt relative to income edged down ever so slightly in the fourth quarter.

Statistics Canada says household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income was 170.4 per cent in the fourth quarter.

That compared with 170.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

In other words, there was $1.70 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income.

Total household credit market debt, which includes consumer credit, mortgage and non-mortgage loans, amounted to $2.13 trillion.

Mortgage debt totalled $1.397 trillion, while consumer credit rose to $630.4 billion.