What is the single biggest household bill draining Canadians’ bank accounts? - CTV News

Canada’s high household debt warrants concern, but the aggregate data do not point to a systemic debt crisis. The debt-service ratio (DSR), a more timely measure of financial strain than the debt-to-income ratio, has eased from its 2023 peak and sits slightly below its pre-pandemic level. Canada’s DSR is also not an international outlier, and the financial system has absorbed the recent rate cycle without widespread distress. National averages, however, conceal acute financial strain among particular groups. Lower-income households are increasingly spending more than their disposable income, while younger Canadians report greater difficulty meeting debt obligations. Pressure is also concentrated among highly leveraged homeowners in Toronto and Vancouver renewing mortgages at higher rates. Rising insolvencies are another warning sign, but existing data cannot distinguish cash-flow problems from cases in which debts exceed assets.

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The IEA is releasing another 100 million barrels of emergency oil and fuels, but global inventories are rapidly shrinking amid the prolonged Hormuz crisis. The U. S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to 331.2 million barrels, its lowest level since 1983, approaching the estimated operational minimum of 250–300 million barrels.