Biggest one-day rise for dollar as Trump goes to victory stand

Donald Trump’s almost certain victory in the US presidential election has sent the dollar soaring towards its biggest one-day rise, while cryptocurrency traders pushed bitcoin to a fresh all-time high.

The likelihood that the Republicans would also grab a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, giving Mr Trump sweeping powers to cut taxes and impose tariffs on imported goods, was also judged as a positive for the US currency even before some states had given their verdict.

Trump declares victory

Mr Trump declared victory on Wednesday morning after taking the key swing state of Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate led his Democrat rival, Kamala Harris, by 267 electoral votes to her 224, with 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

The US currency’s climb began after very early indications of a Republican win in Georgia and gathered pace throughout the day.

The dollar index – which measures the currency against six major peers including the euro and yen – advanced 1.25% as of 0900 GMT, having earlier hit a four-month peak. Mr Trump’s tariff and immigration policies were seen as inflationary by analysts, buoying up the dollar.

Bitcoin climbed as much as 9% at one point to reach a record $75,389, before falling back below $73, 869.  Mr Trump is seen as more actively supportive of cryptocurrencies than Kamala Harris.

Stock markets set to rise 

US stock markets are expected to follow the same upward path when they open later in the day, despite concerns that higher inflation would force the US Federal Reserve to scrap plans to cut interest rates, keeping them higher than previously expected.

The euro fell as much as 1.92% to $1.0719 for the first time since 2 July. Sterling slipped as much as 1.35% to $1.2865. The dollar added as much as 1.8% to 154.34 yen, the highest since 30 July.