The White House and Republicans moved towards a temporary agreement on a short-term extension of the US debt limit, raising tentative hopes of averting a potential default by the world’s largest economy.

白宫(White House)和共和党就短期提高美国债务上限达成了一项临时协议，令人对世界最大经济体避免潜在违约产生初步期待。

Amid mounting global pressure for a deal, Barack Obama said he would consider signing a six-week extension of US borrowings offered by the Republican leadership in Congress. The accord offered a chance of defusing the issue a week before the deadline to lift the debt limit.

面临着越来越大的国际压力，巴拉克奥巴马(Barack Obama)表示，他会考虑签署国会共和党领导层提出的将美债上限延长六周的提案。距离最后期限仅一周之际，这一协议为化解问题提供了一次机会。

Financial markets responded favorably to the signs of a thaw in Washington, with the S&P 500 up 1.7 per cent at midday and set for its best one-day rise since the start of the year.

金融市场对华盛顿打破僵局的迹象反应积极，标普500指数(S&P 500)截至午盘上涨1.7%，有望实现今年初以来最大单日涨幅。

However, the White House said it would have to see a detailed proposal, and the Republican leadership, which has been buffeted by uncompromising Tea Party members in its caucus, will also have to secure the votes in Congress for the measure.

然而，白宫表示必须要看到详细的提案。而在党团会议中受到不妥协的茶党(Tea Party)成员施压的共和党领导层也将不得不在国会争取到足够票数，使该提案获得通过。

“I am hoping [Mr Obama] would look at this as a good-faith measure to move half way so that a conversation can begin,” John Boehner, the Republican House speaker, said ahead of a White House meeting with Mr Obama.

共和党籍的众议院议长约翰?博纳(John Boehner，见上图)在与奥巴马在白宫开会之前表示：“我希望(奥巴马)将此看作一项作出妥协的诚意之举，从而开启谈话。”

Jay Carney, a spokesman for Mr Obama, said: “The president is happy that cooler heads at least seem to be prevailing in the House?...?but he believes it would be far better for the Congress to raise the debt ceiling for an extended period of time.”

白宫发言人杰伊卡尼(Jay Carney)说：“让总统感到欣慰的是，至少众议院头脑比较清醒的人开始占上风……但他认为，国会最好能够长期提高债务上限。”

Sustaining a truce on the debt limit will be difficult, analysts cautioned. It will also leave large parts of the US government still closed in a parallel but related stand-off over the budget that led to a partial shutdown 10 days ago.

分析师们告诫称，在债务上限问题上保持“休战”将很困难。这将会让美国政府的很多部门依然处于关门状态;10天前，围绕预算的一场平行但相关的对峙导致美国政府部分停摆。

The Republican leadership wants to take the threat of sovereign default off the table to allow it to refocus attention on the budget, an issue where it thinks it has a stronger negotiating position.

共和党领导层希望消除主权债务违约的威胁，从而将精力转向预算。他们认为，自己在预算问题上具有更强的谈判地位。

The prospect of a deal pushed Treasury bill yields higher on paper set to mature in late November and early December. Bills serve a crucial role in the global financial system as collateral for bank funding and derivatives, and the sector has been hit by the specter of any delay in bill payments by the US Treasury. Jack Lew, US Treasury secretary, earlier said there was no guarantee that international investors would take priority over social security recipients and other creditors in the event of a default.

达成协议的前景，提高了11月末和12月初到期的美国短期国债的收益率。作为银行融资和衍生品的抵押物，美国短期国债在全球金融体系中发挥着关键作用，而这些债券近来受到美国财政部拖欠偿付可能性的冲击。美国财政部长杰克卢(Jack Lew)早些时候指出，若发生违约，国际投资者相对于社保受益人和其他债权人的优先权并无保障。