Obama, Romney remain close two days before election: Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney shake hands at the conclusion of the final presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida October 22, 2012.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The race between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney remained in a dead heat ahead of Tuesday's election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Sunday.

Of 3,805 likely voters polled nationally, 48 percent said they would vote for Democrat Obama, while 47 percent sided with Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, the poll showed.

The results fall within the poll's credibility interval, a tool used to account for statistical variation in Internet-based polls.

Obama and Romney have been locked in a neck-and-neck race for weeks. Over the weekend, both were making final appearances in a few crucial states, hoping to sway a shrinking number of undecided voters and to encourage their supporters to get to the polls.

The poll's credibility interval was plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for likely voters.