Too close to call, uncertainty for the USD?

Too close to call

Only 24 hours ago, it looked like Joe Biden would be getting ready to confirming he had won the votes to become the 46th newly elected president of the USA, beating Donald Trump in the race to the White House. Numerous polls had indicated Biden had a significant lead and it was only a matter of time. In reality this could not have been further from the truth. Four years ago Trump defied the polling predictions to edge Hilary Clinton in the vote, now after election day yesterday we are still waiting to see if Trump will be starting the his second term in Washington or if Joe Biden would be new confirmed President.

As expected, Trump is remaining defiant and insisting, he has won the election, even though he is preparing to take it to the US supreme court, claiming votes are being counted after voting is closed, despite this being usual practice after voting is close. As things stand Joe Biden looks to have gained a slight edge, claiming some key battle ground states. But Trump remains in contention holding on to key states like Texas and Florida.

Some news outlets are reporting we could get confirmation by the end of today, with others reporting this could be dragged on for weeks, I fear this could drag on for sometime especially if Donald Trump doesn’t get the result he needs to start his second and final term in the White House.

So how has the USD reacted?

Initially yesterday as Joe Bidden looked like he was taking an early lead in the race, the US Dollar lost value against the British pound, down over 1% reaching 1.3140. Once news started to filter through that the election race was becoming closer than polls had suggested the dollar started to come back down with the uncertainty on the result in question again, suggesting the markets could be favouring a win for Trump to keep the dollar strong, seeing the rate drop back to 1.2914.

Joe Biden still looks like clinching the win, with the markets tentatively shifting the dollar back above 1.30, but with election going right down to the wire, nothing at this stage can be assumed until confirmed, and even then, it could be contested prolonging any conclusion.

With the added fact of if Joe Biden does succeed, its highly possible he won't get the democratic Senate, dividing US politics again with him facing the same difficulty Barack Obama battled with when Biden served as his vice president. So, expect many more changes in the currency markets especially where USD the is concerned.

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