President Bush has asked treasury secretary Mr John Snow to stay in his job and Mr Snow agreed to, the White House said, ending weeks of speculation.
"The president asked Secretary Snow to continue serving in his second term and the president is pleased Secretary Snow agreed to continue his service," said White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan.
Mr Snow's future had seemed in doubt for weeks as the administration was said to be looking for a new head of the US Treasury.
The White House was under mounting pressure to clarify Mr Snow's future and make decisions about the economic team before pushing ahead with a legislative agenda that includes overhauling the tax code and reforming social security.
Mr Bush asked Mr Snow to stay during a meeting in the Oval Office, Mr McClellan said. He declined to say how long Mr Snow would remain in the job.
"I've never heard any discussion of time frames. He asked him to continue serving into the second term," he said.
"Secretary Snow is a valuable member of our economic team and the president greatly appreciates his service," Mr Mr McClellan said.
The dollar enjoyed its biggest one-day rise since April 2001 yesterday, bouncing 1.5 per cent as speculators took profits on the short dollar positions that have proved so lucrative since October.
Most saw the move as little more than a correction in the currency's long-term downtrend. The prospect of any sustained dollar bounce is undermined by the perception that Asian central banks will use any periods of dollar strength to shift some of their vast foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar.
This factor was at play yesterday, with Middle Eastern central banks once again selling dollars and buying euro, a factor that helped the euro recover from its intraday low of $1.3193. It closed at $1.326.
