Washington - The economic turmoil in the United States has pushed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ahead of Republican rival John McCain, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday showed.

Obama got the nod from 52 per cent of likely voters in the poll to 43 per cent for McCain. It was the first time since the primary season ended that Obama has taken a clear lead over McCain, the newspaper said. As recently as two weeks ago the race was a virtual tie, with McCain leading by a narrow margin.

But the survey shows most voters now see the economy as the most important issue in the election as Congress considers a 700-billion- dollar bailout of financial firms hit by bad mortgage debt. More of those surveyed said they trusted Obama to oversee the country's financial situation and boost the economy.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points among likely voters.

Realclearpolitics. com, which compiles averages of all polls, shows Obama leading McCain by 2.8 percentage points. (dpa)