Global debt hits record of nearly $338 trillion

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters): Global debt hit a record high of $337.7 trillion at the end of the second quarter, driven by easing global financial conditions, a softer US dollar and a more accommodative stance from major central banks, a quarterly report showed on Thursday.

The Institute of International Finance, a financial services trade group, said that global debt rose over $21 trillion in the first half of the year to $337.7 trillion.

China, France, the United States, Germany, Britain, and Japan recorded the largest increases in debt levels in US dollar terms, though some of that was due to a waning dollar, the IIF found. The US currency has weakened 9.75% since the start of the year against a basket of major trading partners.

"The scale of this increase was comparable to the surge seen in H2 2020, when pandemic-related policy responses drove an unprecedented buildup in global debt," the IIF said in its Global Debt Monitor.

Looking at debt-to-GDP ratios - an indicator of the ability to repay debt by comparing to what is being produced - Canada, China, Saudi Arabia and Poland saw the sharpest increases. The ratio declined in Ireland, Japan, and Norway, the report found.

Overall, the global debt-to-output ratio stood just above 324%.