Dollar buoyant as Bush aides declare him "winner"

LONDON (AFP) - The dollar climbed against the euro and yen as US President George W. Bush was declared the winner of a closely-fought presidential election by his White House chief of staff.
The euro fell to 1.2699 dollars in early European trading from 1.2741 late on Tuesday in New York.
The dollar rose to 106.72 yen against 106.02 on Tuesday.
However, analysts expected the gains to be short-lived.
"While the dollar may recover a bit further in response to Bush's likely victory ... the market focus will soon return to the US fundamentals and consequently the dollar should come under renewed downward pressure," WestLB currency strategist Michael Klawitter said.
Bush won re-election by a "decisive margin" after taking the critical midwestern state of Ohio by a "statistically insurmountable" number of votes, White House chief of staff Andrew Card said.
"We are convinced that President Bush has won reelection with at least 286 electoral college votes, and he also had a margin of three and a half million popular votes," Card told Republican faithful.
Fox News and NBC gave Bush the state that would virtually seal his reelection. But CNN said it was too close to call and CBS and ABC television made no judgment.
Democrat John Kerry had earlier refused to concede defeat in his bid to enter the White House, with his running-mate John Edwards vowing: "We will fight for every vote."
The uncertainty provided a reminder of the presidential contest four years ago that was finally decided by the US Supreme Court.
"For the dollar ... the market will be pressured as long as there is uncertainty about the election outcome," Standard Chartered analysts said.
"The longer the uncertainty persists and the more contentious it is, the more pressure markets may face."
A Bush victory would likely "help underpin the dollar", Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi economist Derek Halpenny said.
"But this element of uncertainty, rising oil prices and the (US) employment report on Friday are most likely going to keep dollar gains contained today." The euro was changing hands at 1.2699 dollars from 1.2741 late on Tuesday in New York, 135.56 yen (134.92), 0.6905 pounds (0.6999) and 1.5334 Swiss francs (1.5339).
The dollar stood at 106.72 yen (106.02) and 1.2071 Swiss francs (1.2094).
The pound was at 1.8393 dollars (1.8379), 196.32 yen (195.46) and 2.2203 Swiss francs (2.2236).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold dropped to 420.90 dollars against 424.20 late on Tuesday.

11/03/2004 - 12:11 GMT - AFP