11/22 01:56 Euro Rises as Court Ruling Favors Gore; U.S. May Help Buy Euros By Mari Murayama

Tokyo, Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The euro rose from near a three- week low against the dollar after a court ruling boosted Al Gore's chance of winning the U.S. presidency, lifting hopes the U.S. will maintain its policy of joining the European Central Bank in buying the currency.

The incumbent administration, headed by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Gore, bought euros in September with the ECB. Gore's opponent, George W. Bush, may heed the advice of his economic adviser, former Federal Reserve Governor Lawrence Lindsey, who has said the U.S. should stay out of the currency markets.

``The court decision that seems favorable for Gore has given the impression another joint intervention is possible, supporting the euro,'' said Yoichiro Yamaguchi, a foreign exchange manager at Sakura Bank Ltd.

The euro rose to 84.78 U.S. cents from 84.41 late in New York yesterday. It also rose to 93.21 yen from 92.81 in New York.

Florida's highest court today gave Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties until 5 p.m. eastern standard time Sunday to submit their vote recounts to be added to the state's total ballots. If the state's top election office is closed on Nov. 26, counties have until 9 a.m. the next day.

Gore is banking on the recounts, taking place in the predominantly Democratic counties, to overcome Bush's official 930- vote lead in Florida. Gore has gained 278 votes based on a partial recount in the three counties. Without Florida, Gore has 267 electoral votes to Bush's 246. Whoever wins Florida's 25 electoral votes will take the election, which is undecided two weeks after the Nov. 7 vote.

Holidays

The euro also rose on speculation the European Central Bank may act alone as early as today to purchase its currency, buying for a fourth day this month.

Holidays in U.S. and Japanese markets tomorrow may facilitate intervention, traders said. Less trading makes it easier for central banks to move currencies, as witnessed during the ECB's intervention during a Japanese holiday on Nov. 3, traders said.

``The market is on alert for intervention,'' said Masayuki Yamamoto, an assistant vice president for foreign exchange at Bank of America.

Europe's single currency fell 0.9 percent yesterday after a report showed business confidence in western Germany declined in October for a fifth month, raising concern growth is slowing in the euro region's biggest economy.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted this week that growth in the 11-nation region will slow to 3.1 percent in 2001 from 3.5 percent this year, in part because of higher oil costs.

The ECB's solo interventions this month followed a joint intervention in September by the ECB and its counterparts in the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Canada.

Hirokazu Note, chief trader at Sumitomo Bank Ltd., expects traders and investors to sell the euro should an intervention succeed to push the currency above 86 U.S. cents.

While the euro may rise during central bank interventions, gains will probably be temporary because reports indicate the 11- nation region's economy is slowing, he said.

Yen

The yen was little changed near a nine-month low against its U.S. counterpart at 110.04 per dollar on concern Japanese government officials are more concerned with politics than the economy, after a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori was rejected yesterday.

Mori will probably reappoint Kiichi Miyazawa as finance minister when he reshuffles his cabinet next month, the Yomiuri newspaper said, citing anonymous government sources.

The reshuffle is expected about Dec. 6, after the current parliamentary session ends Dec. 1, and is aimed at shoring up Mori's leadership after he survived the no-confidence vote, the report said.

A 4.78 trillion yen ($43.4 billion) extra budget is expected to pass the upper house later today and become effective. While the budget is considered necessary to sustain Asia's biggest economy, increased spending alone isn't enough for Japan for the months ahead, analysts said.

In other trading, the dollar fell to 1.7946 Swiss francs from 1.8036 in late New York. The British pound was quoted at $1.4190, up from $1.4180 yesterday.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 23, 2000