TOKYO (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar skidded to fresh all-time lows against its Australian, Singapore and Swiss counterparts Wednesday before clawing back some of its losses, as a prolonged standoff in Washington over hiking the U.S. debt ceiling continued. Against the Swiss franc USDCHF -0.14% , the dollar fell to an all-time low of 79.96 centimes on the EBS trading platform, compared with 80.10 centimes late Tuesday. There are 100 centimes in a Swiss franc. Read Forex Files column on the Swiss franc The dollar earlier slumped to $1.1992 Singapore dollars. It was last trading at S$1.2003, compared to S$1.2030 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar USDJPY -0.20% stood at ¥77.66 — its lowest level since its all-time nadir of 76.25 on March 17, and down from ¥77.90 late Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.98% was buying $1.1076, up from $1.0960 in late North American trading Tuesday. It rose as high as $1.1079 — its loftiest level since it was floated in 1983. The Aussie’s gains were fueled by hotter-than-expected inflation data, which increased the likelihood of more tightening from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Second-quarter consumer price index inflation hit 0.9%, compared to a rise of 1.6% in the March quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. Read more on Australia CPI data. “Today’s inflation is a game-changer for market rate expectations,” said Barclays Capital economists Gavin Stacey and Joaquin Vespignani. The data are likely to focus the market’s attention back on domestic factors and the probability that the Reserve Bank of Australia has “unfinished business on the tightening front,” they said in a note. While an interest-rate hike in August “remains an outside chance,” they added that “a more hawkish statement appears likely.” The Australian data added to already formidable pressure on the U.S. unit this week, as the U.S. debt-ceiling stalemate continued ahead of the looming Aug. 2 deadline. House Speaker John Boehner was rewriting his bill, so the House may end up voting on the bill on Thursday rather than the initially scheduled Wednesday vote. Read more on Boehner rewriting debt bill. The dollar index DXY -0.03% , which tracks the U.S. unit’s performance against a basket of six other currencies, was at 73.589, compared with 73.501 late Tuesday. The euro EURUSD -0.12% slipped to $1.4487 from $1.4514 late Tuesday. See real-time currency quotes and tools. The British pound GBPUSD +0.05% bought $1.6412, compared with $1.6411 late Tuesday. Lisa Twaronite is MarketWatch's Tokyo bureau chief.

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