United States President Joe Biden and the Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives have both said they were optimistic the country would avert a potentially catastrophic default on its debt commitments, even as negotiations remain ongoing.

Both Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Wednesday that they would push ahead on talks to raise the country’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, which has been the subject of a months-long standoff. A deal would need to be struck before the government runs out of money to pay its bills, something the US Treasury has said could happen as soon as June 1.