Margin debt levels continue to grind lower, as Canadian investors scale back their borrowing activity.

At the end of April, outstanding margin debt was down to less than $9.3 billion, according to the latest numbers from the Investment Dealers Association. This is down another 5% or so from March, when client margin debt levels sat at $9.7 billion.

April continues a downward trend that began last November. Debt levels dipped under $10 billion in March for the first time since last June.

April marks another new 12-month low. Last June, outstanding debt sat at more than $9.8 billion. The continually lower debt levels are undoubtedly the result of clients limiting their borrowing in the face of choppy equity markets, and the consequence of losses sustained over the past few months. Debt levels peaked at $11.3 billion in November 2000.