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US White House and House Republicans have reached an "agreement in principle" to raise the debt ceiling to avert a possible default amid deep partisan divide and global concerns.

Key negotiators struck an agreement in principle Saturday night to extend the debt ceiling and avert a catastrophic default, just days before the Treasury Department says the US could run out of money, Speaker Kevin McCarthy was quoted as saying by NBC News.

"We've come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people," McCarthy said in tweet.

Since 1960, US Congress has acted 78 separate times to permanently raise, temporarily extend, or revise the definition of the debt limit, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the US Department of the Treasury.