WASHINGTON: The US Treasury said on Monday that its cash balance as of Friday was US$60.66 billion, compared to US$57.34 billion a day earlier and $139.94 billion a week earlier, amid tense negotiations over raising the federal debt ceiling.
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has said the Treasury could run short of sufficient cash and borrowing resources to pay all of the US government’s bills as soon as June 1 without action by Congress to increase the debt ceiling.
As of May 17, the Treasury had US$92 billion in borrowing capacity remaining under available extraordinary cash management measures to avoid breaching the debt limit.
Wrightson ICAP had forecast cash balance of $55 billion for Friday, but estimated that this would sink to US$25 billion on June 1. A Goldman Sachs note to clients on Friday noted that Treasury in past debt limit episodes has used a $30 billion cash threshold as a minimum needed to pay US obligations.