The United States must not delay raising its debt ceiling as ensuing uncertainty would hurt both the U.S. and the global economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in an interview on CNBC television on Friday, May 10, according to Reuters.

"Congress should deal with this right away. The fact that they have more time should not put off dealing with this," he said.

"I don't think that it's in the interests of the U.S. or the world economy for Congress to wait until the last minute and create a sense of anxiety. Congress has to raise the debt limit."