By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) — The dollar drifted lower Wednesday, after getting a lift earlier from hopes of progress on ongoing U.S. debt-ceiling talks. President Barack Obama cited “some progress” Tuesday in talks with lawmakers about raising the U.S. debt limit, and praised a new so-called “Gang of Six” plan in the Senate that would cut $3.7 trillion from deficits over 10 years. Read more on Obama's comments on debt plan. Also Tuesday, House lawmakers approved a Republican bill that would raise the debt limit on condition that both chambers of Congress pass a balanced budget amendment and make spending cuts. Obama said he would veto that plan. Read more on House approving debt-ceiling bill. “Despite the relief rally, we would caution that the Gang of Six proposal has to be agreed by both parties in the coming days and there remains some doubt as to whether it passes in time,” said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, in a note to clients Wednesday. Investors are also awaiting an emergency euro-zone summit meeting Thursday, aimed at addressing Europe’s sovereign debt woes. The dollar index DXY -0.15% , which tracks the U.S. unit’s performance against a basket of six currencies, traded at 75.191, down from 75.210 in late North American trading on Tuesday. The euro EURUSD +0.19% rose to $1.4143 from $1.4125 late Tuesday. See real-time currency quotes and tools. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar USDJPY -0.29% bought ¥79.08, down from ¥79.25 late Tuesday. The British pound GBPUSD +0.02% bought $1.6105, compared with $1.6112 late Tuesday, and the Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.04% traded at $1.0722, compared with $1.0721. Lisa Twaronite is MarketWatch's Tokyo bureau chief.

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