Gold prices set a new record

Gold rose above $1,120 per ounce to hit a record high on Thursday for the second straight day, as investors bought the precious metal to hedge against a weakening dollar.

Improvements in the economic outlook also lent support to the precious metal. Gold is often seen as a hedge against energy price-led inflation, Reuters reported.

But gains were partly weighed down after Barrick's chief executive in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday that there is a possibility of a sell-off in gold.

The comments by the world's biggest gold producer were seen as suggesting the company's planned buy-backs of hedging short positions are mostly over, analysts said, meaning a major buyer getting out of the market.

"The comments sounded to me as if Barrick is not at all in any hurry to buy back," said Naomi Suzuki, a senior analyst at SC Asset Management Co in Tokyo.

"There's some caution in the market. The lack of any increase in the holdings of the gold-backed exchange-traded fund lately is underlining that mood," she said, referring to the world's largest bullion-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Trust.

Last week, Barrick said in an interview with Reuters that it might complete the planned closure of its hedgebook before the end of the 12-month window it had set, adding that it had bought back 1 million ounces of hedge gold in October.