US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said he is confident the White House and Congress will agree a deal to raise the US debt ceiling.
He said it was “unthinkable” the US would not meet its obligations on time.
Mr Geithner’s comments to CNN come after talks between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders on Saturday failed to make a breakthrough.
The US risks default on its $14.3tn (£8.7tn) debt without a deal to raise the borrowing limit before 2 August.
At this point the US Treasury could run out of money to pay all of its bills – which could lead to interest rate rises, threaten the US economic recovery and in turn the global recovery.
The sticking point is the issue of taxation.
