The cumulative net worth of US households increased for the first time in two years in the second quarter, according to an Associated Press article that cites data provided by the Federal Reserve.

 

Americans' net worth - up $2 trillion to $53.1 trillion in the June quarter of 2009 - was up nearly 4% from the first quarter. The Fed says the gain is attributable to a pick-up in real-estate and security prices.

 

Net worth calculations measure the value of assets such as homes, checking accounts and investments minus debt like mortgages and credit cards.

 

Despite the Q2 uptick, US household wealth is down 19% from its early-2007 peak of $65.3 trillion.

 

Household debt stood at $13.7 trillion in the second quarter, a slight improvement from $13.8 trillion in the first three months of 2009, and down from an all-time peak of $13.9 trillion in Q2 2008. The Fed says this trend points to a steady lessening of US-household indebtedness, but that it's coming at a snail's pace. 

 

Early last week, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the 21-month-old US recession is probably over. Several times late in 2007 and early in 2008, he predicted there wouldn't be a recession.