Senators in the United States have voted to temporarily extend the country’s debt ceiling, less than two weeks before it was due to be reached.
Disagreements over the ceiling – the limit on how much the government can borrow – are not new in US politics.
But the ongoing row between Republicans and Democrats has caused jitters in the financial markets.
There were fears that the US would default on its national debt, with catastrophic global implications.
The Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, decided on Thursday by a vote of 50-48 to extend the debt ceiling until early December. The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval before it can be sent to President Biden for his signature.
The temporary measure raises the US debt ceiling to $480 billion (£352 billion).
The vote was held hours after Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, announced that a deal had been reached.
The announcement came after what Schumer’s Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell says were negotiations “in good faith” that had continued through the night.
