Asia, with nearly 3 trillion dollars of U.S. government debt, have a strong interest in Washington to find a workable compromise. Politicians and economists contacted by Reuters were convinced that legislators find a last-minute agreement to avert a crisis.
Investors in Asia have taken a defensive position, even though there was no evidence such a panic to sell, which some politicians in Washington had feared. Shares slipped while the Swiss franc and gold rose to record levels.
But only eight days left before the Aug. 2, when the Ministry of Finance has estimated that short of money to pay all the bills, rose to the level of concern.
"Those directly responsible for backup operations to be more nervous than before, but nobody believes that Americans choose suicide when they have solutions," said a senior official of the Bank of Korea, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was authorized to speak to the media.
Japanese economy ministerYoshihiko Noda, when he was asked about the distribution of debt Theus talks, saying only: ". I'll keep an eye on the situation"
Asia Sources said the U.S. debt problem were largely political, not economic. Finding a solution was a matter of gathering the political will to obtain relief funds, which can be much more complicated, due to recent difficulties in Greece showed.
"We certainly agree," said Xia Bin, an academic adviser at the Bank of China. "Do not worry too much about it."
China is the largest foreign owner of U.S. debt, with $ 1.16 trillion in May, then a vote of confidence from Beijing to have a significant impact.
A senior Indian government said that the Obama administration and lawmakers should be aware of the implications for world markets do not agree.
"If you look at the world market, I'm nervous, even if they have nose dived, perhaps reflecting the hope of a solution," an Indian official said.
Australia Treasurer Wayne Swan said a debate on the debt ceiling, adds prolonged uncertainty for the global economy.
"When the global economic recovery and confidence remains fragile, it is in everyone's interest that U.S. policy towards a rapid solution of these problems," Swan told Reuters by e-mail.
Congress has set the borrowing limit to 14 the U.S. government $ 300 billion, but the Treasury has already committed this amount and need more money to meet its obligations. Republicans want an agreement on savings before they allow more borrowing. Democrats want to see a mixture of lower spending and higher taxes.
Rating agencies have warned that even if Congress raises the ceiling for debt and avoid a default, they can still deny the U.S. its AAA credit rating, the highest, if lawmakers fail to s' agree on deeper cuts in the long-term budget.
A drop in credit rating could raise borrowing costs for the government not only U.S. but also for other countries, companies and consumers because the U.S. Treasury is the benchmark by which many of the loans are measured.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Hong Kong, said she was confident Congress to secure an agreement on debt, and "work with President Obama to take steps to improve our long-term fiscal outlook."
Where to invest?
Ethan Harris, co-head of global economic research at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said he expected a temporary increase in the debt ceiling by a pledge of up to $ 4 billion in deficit reduction to be completed six months later.
"The baseline scenario can be summarized as" calm and delay "- to appease the rating agencies and market the beginning of a great plan, but in fact delay the crisis continues in the future," Harris said.
Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist for Prudential Fixed Income in Newark, New Jersey, said the U.S. Treasury might have some wiggle room on August 2 deadline, as tax revenues have exceeded expectations. But who would buy a couple of days, not weeks.
For policy makers in Asia, there is no alternative to investing in U.S. Treasuries. China and Japan are by far the largest foreign owners of more than $ 2 trillion treasure together, and no one else in the world is deep enough to absorb the size of the investment.
Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, India and South Korea all rank among the largest holders of U.S. debt as a legacy of the Asian debt crisis of the late 1990s.
Many countries in the region have accumulated large reserves as a form of self-confidence that would never have to go hat in hand to the IMF.
In fact, the Asian sound public finances made the area attractive to global investors, who avoided as too risky 10 years ago.
Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman Group emerging markets, Templeton Asset Management, said that more money could flow into the Asian currencies and bonds, debt negotiations fail, the United States.
"People see it as a safer alternative," Mobius, the Group manages $ 50 billion. "You are now starting to see this trend. Some countries have reduced the cost of credit default swaps (more) developed countries".
Japanese Yen has been a major beneficiary of global concern about the sustainability of sovereign debt in America and Europe, and Tokyo has expressed concern that a stronger yen will hurt exporters.
Noda, the Japanese finance minister, said he was watching the currency markets "carefully".