Gold falls from record, dips below $1,050

By Miho Yoshikawa

TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold fell to below $1,050 per ounce on Friday as the dollar edged up, snapping a rally that took prices to all-time highs for three consecutive days.

Spot gold hit a record high of $1,061.20 on Thursday as the dollar's weakness increased bullion's traditional appeal as a hedge against the U.S. currency.

The dollar rose on Friday, with comments from Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that indicated monetary policy might have to be tightened as a recovery takes hold, helping to pull the greenback off 14-month lows against a basket of currencies.

Apart from its strong inverse correlation with the dollar, fears of inflation have also fuelled gold's rise to historic levels this week.

"I think gold's uptrend remains intact," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities' research team.

Technical analysts at Barclays Capital have also said their outlook on gold was bullish, with a push towards $1,120 now a possibility.

"There are new participants that are being attracted to the market now as it rises," Sugata said.

He said these new inflows of money could be seen in areas including gold-backed exchange-traded funds and physical buying

By Miho Yoshikawa

TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold fell to below $1,050 per ounce on Friday as the dollar edged up, snapping a rally that took prices to all-time highs for three consecutive days.

Spot gold hit a record high of $1,061.20 on Thursday as the dollar's weakness increased bullion's traditional appeal as a hedge against the U.S. currency.

The dollar rose on Friday, with comments from Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that indicated monetary policy might have to be tightened as a recovery takes hold, helping to pull the greenback off 14-month lows against a basket of currencies.

Apart from its strong inverse correlation with the dollar, fears of inflation have also fuelled gold's rise to historic levels this week.

"I think gold's uptrend remains intact," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities' research team.

Technical analysts at Barclays Capital have also said their outlook on gold was bullish, with a push towards $1,120 now a possibility.

"There are new participants that are being attracted to the market now as it rises," Sugata said.

He said these new inflows of money could be seen in areas including gold-backed exchange-traded funds and physical buying