The US dollar lost more ground to the AUD during the Asia session after Australian Q2 CPI came in well ahead of expectations. As for the US debt ceiling impasse, the rhetoric emanating from Washington suggests that there is still some distance to cover for both sides to reach an agreement, though the market appears inured to the fact that any deal reached at this stage would probably be insufficient to ward off revisiting the issue in a few quarters’ time, if not sooner. White House Chief of Staff Daley said he is confident Congress will work to prevent a default but offered no details on how talks are progressing. On the data front, consumer confidence rebounded but housing figures were soft. EURUSD traded 1.4492-1.4536, and USDJPY 77.70-78.09. Continue reading →