US President George W. Bush's approval rating has fallen to 45 percent, the lowest point of his presidency, a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll published on Friday showed.

The president's approval rating stood at 52 percent in a poll taken last week. His previous lowest rating, 46 percent, was recorded in May last year.

The new poll was conducted among 1,001 adults from Monday to Wednesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Independent political analysts said the drop might reflect opposition to the White House and Congress intervention in the Terri Shiavo case, the USA Today newspaper said.

Bush signed a bill on Monday, which was passed in an unusual weekend session of the Congress allowing federal courts to take jurisdiction over a decision by Shiavo's husband to have her feeding tube removed.

Florida woman Shiavo, 41, was incapacitated in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly cutting oxygen to her brain and has since relied on the feeding tube to keep her alive.

Bush's handling of the economy might also have contributed to the poll's findings, as 59 percent of those surveyed said the economic conditions in the country were getting worse, compared with 32 percent who said the economic conditions were good or excellent.

Source: Xinhua