PRECIOUS-Gold climbs to over one-week peak as hopes of Fed rate cut rises

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Deutsche Bank raises 2026 gold forecast to $4,450 per ounce

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Spot gold hits highest since November 14

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Unemployment claims fall, but job market remains weak

(Rewrites for US morning hours)

By Anjana Anil and Noel John

Nov 26 (Reuters) - Gold prices hovered near an over one-week high on Wednesday, after expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will trim interest rates next month kept non-yielding bullion a favoured asset.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $4,144.06 per ounce at 9:25 a.m. ET (1425 GMT), after hitting its highest since November 14 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were flat at $4,140.30 per ounce.

"The focus has shifted away from the dollar and towards a decrease in interest rates in December," said Marex analyst Edward Meir, noting gold's rise despite the dollar index being up 0.2%

Rate cut bets "are helping gold a bit, as is the talk that they might nominate a Fed chairman soon and the front runner is Kevin Hassett from the Economic Advisory Committee of the president."

Hassett, like U.S. President Donald Trump, has said interest rates should be lower than they are under Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Gold, a non-yielding asset which thrives in a low-interest rate environment, has gotten an additional boost from this news.

Traders see an 83% chance of a Fed rate cut next month, compared to 30% a week ago, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to still-low layoffs, though the labor market is struggling to generate enough jobs for those out of work amid lingering economic uncertainty.

U.S. consumer confidence also weakened in November as households grew more concerned about jobs and their financial outlook. The data releases followed a series of recent dovish comments from Fed policymakers.

The outlook for gold remains positive, with most research banks seeing gold above $4,000 per ounce in 2026. Deutsche Bank has raised its 2026 gold forecast to $4,450 an ounce from $4,000, citing stabilising investor flows and persistent central bank demand.

Spot silver rose 1.5% to $52.19 per ounce, platinum was up 0.6% at $1,562.96, while palladium added 0.7% to $1,407.50. (Reporting by Anjana Anil and Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)