P. M. Briefing : Treasury Bill Auctions Delayed

WASHINGTON —  The Treasury Department postponed its scheduled weekly auction of three-month and six-month bills today because of Congress’ failure to raise the debt limit.

It was uncertain whether the Treasury would be able to go ahead with its planned quarterly refunding later this week.

It tentatively had scheduled auctions of $10 billion in three-year notes on Tuesday, $10 billion in 10-year notes on Wednesday and $10 billion in 30-year bonds on Thursday.

The government’s borrowing authority dropped from $2.87 trillion to $2.80 trillion last Tuesday.

The House has voted to raise the debt ceiling to $3.1 trillion for the current fiscal year, but Senate legislation has been blocked by a squabble over whether to cut the capital gains tax.