The Fort Worth Press - Dollar soars, bitcoin hits record, as Trump claims victory

USD -
AED 3.672977
AFN 68.000338
ALL 93.019769
AMD 388.466711
ANG 1.802136
AOA 913.507442
ARS 1004.024015
AUD 1.53468
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.702233
BAM 1.859028
BBD 2.018819
BDT 119.494913
BGN 1.86488
BHD 0.376867
BIF 2897.5
BMD 1
BND 1.343751
BOB 6.909335
BRL 5.814302
BSD 0.999857
BTN 84.485602
BWP 13.651378
BYN 3.272548
BYR 19600
BZD 2.015674
CAD 1.39568
CDF 2870.000091
CHF 0.886604
CLF 0.035278
CLP 973.429703
CNY 7.237203
CNH 7.253685
COP 4391
CRC 508.292544
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 105.62499
CZK 24.195026
DJF 177.720257
DKK 7.115305
DOP 60.4023
DZD 133.588994
EGP 49.668496
ERN 15
ETB 123.093572
EUR 0.95385
FJD 2.27125
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.793835
GEL 2.725002
GGP 0.789317
GHS 15.849765
GIP 0.789317
GMD 70.999559
GNF 8629.999573
GTQ 7.719178
GYD 209.209595
HKD 7.78355
HNL 25.174971
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.285912
HUF 392.284991
IDR 15927.05
ILS 3.71464
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.510799
IQD 1310.5
IRR 42104.999856
ISK 139.349642
JEP 0.789317
JMD 158.803485
JOD 0.709103
JPY 154.569674
KES 129.501289
KGS 86.498751
KHR 4049.999918
KMF 467.497654
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1399.524993
KWD 0.30763
KYD 0.833321
KZT 495.877273
LAK 21954.999924
LBP 89600.000059
LKR 290.944865
LRD 180.450432
LSL 18.110004
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.884965
MAD 9.995001
MDL 18.209124
MGA 4670.000107
MKD 58.680488
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.016062
MRU 39.904986
MUR 46.403431
MVR 15.459836
MWK 1734.999682
MXN 20.41969
MYR 4.465031
MZN 63.949792
NAD 18.109844
NGN 1687.150112
NIO 36.789902
NOK 11.067525
NPR 135.177343
NZD 1.70542
OMR 0.384985
PAB 0.999948
PEN 3.795025
PGK 4.02575
PHP 58.981496
PKR 278.050105
PLN 4.1439
PYG 7848.150595
QAR 3.64075
RON 4.747398
RSD 111.612008
RUB 101.300503
RWF 1370
SAR 3.754518
SBD 8.355531
SCR 13.660107
SDG 601.477673
SEK 11.057569
SGD 1.345855
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.574973
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.492896
SRD 35.405018
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.749543
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.109726
THB 34.714996
TJS 10.649728
TMT 3.5
TND 3.164995
TOP 2.342097
TRY 34.496503
TTD 6.787668
TWD 32.563503
TZS 2652.35897
UAH 41.282881
UGX 3694.533288
UYU 42.610626
UZS 12880.000006
VES 46.002271
VND 25422.5
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 623.500672
XAG 0.032387
XAU 0.000374
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.762793
XOF 619.500595
XPF 113.650183
YER 249.924982
ZAR 18.08805
ZMK 9001.213194
ZMW 27.574604
ZWL 321.999592
  • RYCEF

    0.1800

    6.79

    +2.65%

  • JRI

    -0.0350

    13.195

    -0.27%

  • RBGPF

    -0.5000

    59.69

    -0.84%

  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.59

    +0.28%

  • BCC

    3.3200

    140.73

    +2.36%

  • VOD

    -0.1050

    8.835

    -1.19%

  • RIO

    0.1100

    62.5

    +0.18%

  • NGG

    -0.2400

    63.03

    -0.38%

  • SCS

    0.1350

    13.205

    +1.02%

  • CMSD

    0.0880

    24.348

    +0.36%

  • RELX

    0.5550

    45.665

    +1.22%

  • BTI

    -0.1000

    36.98

    -0.27%

  • GSK

    0.1900

    33.54

    +0.57%

  • BCE

    -0.4480

    26.552

    -1.69%

  • BP

    0.3450

    29.425

    +1.17%

  • AZN

    0.6450

    63.845

    +1.01%

Dollar soars, bitcoin hits record, as Trump claims victory
Dollar soars, bitcoin hits record, as Trump claims victory / Photo: © AFP

Dollar soars, bitcoin hits record, as Trump claims victory

The dollar surged and bitcoin hit a record high Wednesday before Donald Trump claimed victory in the US election, with traders ramping up bets on fresh tax cuts, tariffs, and rising inflation.

Text size:

While polls had shown the race on a knife edge, the Republican fared far better than his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris as results rolled in.

Both candidates picked up expected wins in safe states, but indications that the business tycoon was on course for a second term boosted the so-called Trump Trade.

While victory is not yet official, Trump claimed it in a speech in Florida, saying: "We are going to help our country heal... We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly."

News that the former president's party had won control of the Senate boosted the prospect of sweeping tax cuts, more tariffs, and deregulation -- seen as a boost for the greenback.

The dollar jumped 1.5 percent to 154.38 yen, its highest since July, while it was also up more than one percent against the euro and more than three percent against the Mexican peso.

Bitcoin sprung $6,000 higher to a record $75,371.69, topping its previous peak of $73,797.98 in March.

Trump has pledged to make the United States the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world" and to put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge of a wide-ranging audit of governmental waste.

"The price of bitcoin has closely followed Trump's position in the polls and on betting markets," Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell, said ahead of Tuesday's US election.

Investors are "potentially taking the view that a Republican victory would lead to a surge in demand for the digital currency", he added.

Analysts said a clean sweep of Congress and the White House for Trump and Republicans would likely boost the dollar and Treasury yields owing to his plans to cut taxes and impose tariffs on imports.

Peter Esho, economist and founder at Esho Capital, said: "The markets are scrambling to figure out what happens next, but for the time being, the market is pricing in a higher growth and higher inflation outlook."

- 'Trade and tariffs and taxation' -

And Neil Wilson at Finalto trading group said: "Trade and tariffs and taxation would be the three Ts of the Trump Trade, followed by deregulation."

But he added: "Bear in mind as a caveat that the House is still up for grabs and Trump had complete control of Congress last time and it didn't mean he could do everything he said he world."

Such an outcome could provide a headache for Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell as he continues his battle to bring inflation to heel, with Trump's plans considered inflationary.

The election comes as the central bank prepares to deliver its latest policy decision Thursday amid expectations it will cut interest rates by 25 basis points, having lowered them by 50 points in September.

The dollar's surge against the yen rallied stocks more than three percent in Tokyo at one point thanks to gains in exporters, while markets Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok also rose.

However, there were losses in Shanghai, Seoul, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta.

Hong Kong was also well down -- at one point diving almost three percent -- on worries about the impact of a Trump presidency on China's economy and relations between Beijing and Washington.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose at the open.

US futures also rallied.

Traders had been given a strong lead from Wall Street, where all three main indexes climbed more than one percent.

While the result of the election is being closely followed globally, it is of real interest in China after Trump vowed to ratchet up a trade battle with the economic titan by imposing massive tariffs on goods from the country.

The vote comes as Chinese leaders hold a key meeting to hammer out a package of stimulus measures aimed at kickstarting growth and providing support to the colossal property sector, which is mired in a painful debt crisis.

Beijing said Wednesday it hoped for "peaceful coexistence" with the United States as Trump looked set for victory.

- Key figures around 0810 GMT -

Dollar/yen: UP at 154.00 yen from 151.60 yen on Tuesday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0735 from $1.0930

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2871 from $1.3035

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.40 from 83.82 pence

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.6 percent at 39,480.67 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 20,538.38 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,383.81 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 8,225.33

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $71.13 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $74.56 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 42,221.88 (close)

X.Silva--TFWP