Will Obama Embrace Strong Dollar Policy?

While the Bush Administration nominally embraced a strong Dollar policy, the currency's 20% decline over the last eight years suggests it was actually a low priority.

The Obama administration, in contrast, is much more likely to maintain such a policy, a circumstance which could help the Dollar to continue its year-long rally. Obama will assume the office of the presidency at a time when US finances are looking particularly tenuous, with a projected 2009 budget deficit of $1 Trillion.

In order to finance the government bailout, as well as an additional economic stimulus plan and a host of other initiatives (let's not forget the two ongoing wars), Obama will need to spearhead an effort to attract more foreign capital.

For this to happen, the Dollar's status as the world's reserve currency must be cemented and confidence in the Greenback must be restored.

Ironically, Obama may receive a boost in this aspect from the credit crisis.

The Guardian reports:
The dollar [rally] is likely to persist as market participants looked to snap up more U.S. assets after the decisive election of a candidate that promised to bring sweeping changes to a country mired in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression