The
three-month and six-month T-bill sales come a day before a Nov.
3 deadline, which Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said was when the
government would no longer be able to issue more debt if the
federal borrowing limit were not raised.
Analysts forecast the Treasury would run out of cash by
mid-November, which might postpone payments on its debt
obligations and a partial government shutdown.
The Treasury said it had $49 billion in cash on hand on Tuesday,
far below the level of $150 billion or so it tries to maintain
under normal circumstances.
Late Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved a deal
between the White House and top Republican lawmakers which would
set a two-year budget and extend the federal debt ceiling,
currently at $18.1 trillion, through March 2017.
The Senate still needs to vote on this proposal. Some
conservatives have vowed to block it.
(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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