U.S. Dollar Defensive After Inflation Data CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar lost ground against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Wednesday, as U.S. inflation fears eased after the latest data showed that the pick up in consumer prices was not swift enough to necessitate a policy change by the Federal Reserve. Overnight data showed that U.S. consumer price index rose 0.6 percent in March after rising by 0.4 percent in February. Economists had forecast an increase of 0.5 percent. Tuesday's inflation data came in only slightly higher than expected, validating accommodative stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve.