We're going to win this race for White House: Joe Biden
Washington: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has said that it was "clear and convincing" that he is going to win the closely-fought race for the White House against incumbent Republican President Donald Trump.
Biden is on the cusp of being declared as the winner of the November 3 presidential elections, as the 77-year-old former US vice president was leading in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia where counting of votes is continuing.
As of Friday night, Biden had 264 of the 538 electoral college votes. He requires another six electoral college votes to reach the magical number of 270, to be declared elected as the next US president.
Given that counting of votes has not concluded in some key battleground states, Biden refrained from declaring victory but exuded confidence that he will be the winner when final results are out.
"My fellow Americans, we don't have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell a clear and convincing story: We are going to win this race, Biden said in his address to the nation from his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday night.
His running mate Senator Kamala Harris, 56, was also present at the podium during his remarks. But she did not speak.
Reflecting on the progress made in the vote count in the states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia in the last 24 hours, Biden asserted that he is on track for over 300 electoral college votes.
And look at the national numbers: We're going to win this race with a clear majority of the nation behind us. We've gotten over 74 million votes. That's more votes than any presidential ticket has gotten in the history of the United States of America, and our vote total is still growing. We're beating Donald Trump by over 4 million votes, and that margin is still growing as well, he said.
We are going to be the first Democrat to win Arizona in 24 years. We are going to be the first Democrat to win Georgia in 28 years. And we re-built the Blue Wall in the middle of the country that crumbled just four years ago. Pennsylvania. Michigan. Wisconsin. The heartland of this nation, he said.
Trump, 74, has not yet conceded defeat. Infact, he went on to say that his Democratic rival should not wrongfully claim victory.
"Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning! Trump said in a tweet on Friday.
In his address, Biden acknowledged that the counting of votes was slow. However, he assured the people that those who exercised their fundamental right to have their voice heard will not be disappointed.
"Your vote will be counted, I don't care how hard people try to stop it, I will not let it happen."
And what is becoming clearer each hour is that record numbers of Americans from all races, faiths, religions chose change over more of the same, he said.
They have given us a mandate for action on COVID and the economy and climate change and systemic racism. They made it clear they want the country to come together not pull apart. The people spoke. More than 74 million Americans. And they spoke loudly for our ticket, Biden said.
He announced that he will introduce his plans to contain the COVID-19 pandemic on his first day in office.
"On day one, we're going to put our plan to control this virus into action, he said.
The virus has killed more than 236,000 Americans and infected over 9 million others, making the US the worst-hit nation.
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Rupee rises 6 paise to 89.92 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee witnessed range-bound trade in the morning session on Friday, appreciating by 6 paise to 89.92 against the US dollar as thin liquidity conditions accentuated everyday demand-supply imbalances, keeping the rupee tilted toward weakness.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is expected to trade in a narrow range as the 90 level is being protected by the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, the support from positive domestic equities was offset by sustained foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.95 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.92, rising by six paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 10 paise to close at 89.98 against the US dollar.
"Unless RBI comes and sells dollars heavily, the movement is going to be in small ranges as seen in the last three sessions. The pair is seen in a holding pattern between 89.80 and 90, considering the narrow range," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali further noted that corporate demand, FPI demand, and government demand have been the salient features of the rupee over the past year, during which it fell by more than 5 per cent and became the worst-performing Asian currency, though partly protected by the RBI.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally down by 0.15 per cent at 98.17.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.38 per cent higher at USD 61.08 per barrel in futures trade.
"With early-year liquidity still thin and domestic fundamentals offering a mixed but stable backdrop, the rupee appears set to remain range-bound in the near term. As long as USD/INR stays below the 90 handle, the balance of risks tilts mildly in favour of the rupee," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that against this backdrop, USD/INR is expected to trade in a 89.30–90.20 range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade, while the Nifty was up 55.8 points to 26,202.35.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released on Thursday.
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
