LONDON (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Friday but sentiment was wobbly, with currency fundamentals running against the market as the dollar cut losses against the euro after weak U.S. consumer sentiment data.
The precious metal held above key support at $1,100 an ounce, but the recent rally was starting to look tired after a succession of record highs. The market hit a record $1,122.85 on Thursday due to a bearish prognosis for the dollar.
Spot gold was at $1,104 per ounce at 1503 GMT, compared with a last quote of $1,103.60 late in New York on Thursday.
"It has run out of steam after getting above $1,120 an ounce yesterday," said Tom Kendall, precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi.
"No one really wants to get longer at these levels. There's some profit taking in there and some people are calling an interim top and trying to short the market as they see dollar coming back a touch," Kendall said.
The U.S. currency .DXY cut some of its earlier losses and was only down 0.05 percent against a basket of currencies, after data showed U.S. consumer sentiment falling in early November to its weakest in three months.
But the U.S. currency is still down about 7 percent so far this year, making commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for holders of other currencies and boosting gold's price prospects.
"The only thing that seems likely to puncture this (gold's rally) would be a reversal in the dollar," Stephen Briggs, a commodities strategist for RBS in London, said.
Bullion gained 4.9 last week, posting its biggest weekly rise since late April. Year to date, it is up by around 26 percent.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down by 0.14 percent at $1,105 per ounce. They hit a record high of $1,123.40 on Thursday.
OIL FALLING
U.S. crude oil fell and touched its lowest level in almost a month, further weighing on gold as it often moves in line with crude, both because it can be used as a hedge against oil-led inflation and as rising crude prices often increase interest in commodities as an asset class.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust said its holdings stood at 1,114.443 tonnes as of November 12, unchanged from the previous day.
And South Africa, previously the world's top producer, said gold output fell 9.3 percent in volume terms in September compared to a year earlier.
There was a revival in interest in silver with holdings in the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund hitting a record high.
