G20 urges US to address debt ceiling issues soon

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the G-20 countries have urged the US to address debt ceiling issues as soon as possible.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a news conference that G20 officials had discussed debt ceiling and budget issues in the US, which were in a very difficult situation, during the two-day meetings on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Annual Meetings, Xinhua reported.

"The US needs to take urgent actions to address short-term fiscal uncertainties," said a communique issued after the G20 officials concluded the discussions.

Siluanov said US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew left the G20 meetings early for the US budget negotiations and he hoped US Congress would "settle this uncertainty" in a few days.

Lew has told Congress that the federal government will reach its debt ceiling of $16.7 trillion by Oct 17, and that failure to raise it would lead to "catastrophic" default.

Meanwhile, the IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, warned Thursday that if US Congress failed to raise the debt ceiling, it would seriously damage both the US economy and the global economy.