According to an official statement released by the US Treasury Department on Friday, the available funds for extraordinary measures to sustain the government’s financial obligations stood at a meager $88 billion as of May 10.
This marks a decline from the previous week’s balance of approximately $110 billion, leaving only a fraction of the authorized $333 billion available to prevent the US government from exhausting its borrowing capacity under the statutory debt limit.
These measures comprise a collection of accounting tactics employed by the administration, allowing it to continue issuing debt despite surpassing Congress-imposed borrowing restrictions of $31.4 trillion.
Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, had previously warned that the government could exhaust its borrowing capacity as early as June 1. Consequently, Treasury markets have begun incorporating a default premium into the pricing of securities maturing around that time, while the cost of insuring US debt against non-payment has soared.
Although a recent face-to-face meeting between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy failed to yield any substantial progress on the debt impasse, negotiations between their respective staff members are ongoing. The leaders have also scheduled another meeting next week, indicating their commitment to finding a resolution.
