Clinton denies she is about to concede

Hillary Clinton will say tonight that her rival Barack Obama has enough delegates to secure the US Democratic Party presidential nomination, the Associated Press reported, but the Clinton campaign said that she would not concede.

The AP said Clinton, who is trailing Obama in the five-month state-by-state nominating contest, will stop short of formally suspending or ending her White House bid, AP said, quoting two senior campaign officials.

Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said the New York senator was "absolutely not" conceding the campaign and said the AP report was incorrect.

The Clinton campaign issued a terse statement: "The AP story is incorrect. Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening."

The AP report came as the last two states, Montana and South Dakota, were voting in the nominating contests that have put Obama within a few dozen delegates of the number he needs to clinch the nomination and take on Republican John McCain in the race for the White House in the November general election.

The AP report quoted the campaign officials as saying that for all intents and purposes, Clinton's campaign was over.