Her spokesman said the New York senator was still in discussion over whether to accept the job, although the talks were "very much on track". However, officials in both camps said they had every reason to believe that Mr Obama would announce her as his choice shortly after Thanksgiving.

An official in the Clinton camp said: "They're just talking about the state of the world and what's next."

Mr Obama is likely to name Federal Reserve Governor Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary next week.

An official close to the senator says the New York Federal Reserve president was the leading contender for the job and was likely to be nominated on Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama had not finalised his decision.

The development came as Mr Obama prepared for how he would grapple with a collapsing economy. Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico is under serious consideration to be commerce secretary.

Mr Geithner has played a key role in the government's response to the financial crisis and worked closely with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

The nomination of Sen Clinton would be a remarkable union between the former First Lady, who was an early favourite to win the presidency, and the first-term senator who upset her in the primary and cruised to a general election victory.

Some fellow Democrats and government insiders have questioned whether she is too independent and politically ambitious to be an effective secretary of state.

But a senior Obama adviser said the president-elect had been enthusiastic about naming Sen Clinton as secretary of state from the start, believing she would bring instant stature and credibility to US diplomatic relations and that the advantages to her serving far outweighed potential downsides.

Transition aides have worked out financial disclosure issues involving Sen Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, and the complicated international funding of his foundation, which operates in more than 40 countries.