US lawmakers failed to agree on the terms of a fourth stimulus package overnight

Although there still appeared to be room for a last-minute deal, the presidential elections on 3 November were making an already difficult task even harder.

The Republicans, led by US Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, had reportedly offered about $1.6trn in new funds, less than the $2.2trn that Democrats were pushing for.

According to one analyst based in the City, the last thing that the Trump administration now wanted was for the economy stall, while for another analysts the Democrats would be wary of in any way helping Trump's poll ratings.

Against that backdrop, heading into the talks, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, told Bloomberg TV that the differences over the exact amount of funds were not the main issue, rather it was about the "language".

For Pelosi, the main issue was whether the stimulus would help the wealthy or if it would be directed at lower-income families.

White House spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, on the other hand said that Pelosi was not being "serious".

"We raised our offer, but when you lower your offer to 2.2 trillion [dollars], and you ask for direct payments to illegal immigrants, and you ask for certain deportation forgivenesses in your offer, it's not a serious offer," McEnany added.

It was not clear whether the proposals from Democrats that McEnany talked about were a new element in the talks.