Consumers in China helped bullion jump to its highest in more than a month this week, but purchases began to slow down ahead of the long Lunar New Year break which starts next week. Bullion has gained more than 5 percent so far this year. Spot gold slipped $2.30 an ounce to $1,654.49 by 0252 GMT. It had hit a high of almost $1,670 an ounce on Thursday, its strongest since mid-December, before losing some of the gains due to weak US inflation data. Bullion struck a record of around $1,920 last September. "Gold has a fairly good run so far this year, maybe this is time to consolidate a little. A pause here would probably be a healthy sign. After that, I think the next move is likely to be up towards $1,680," said Nick Trevethan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ bank in Singapore. "I think physical flows may slow a little next week. Chinese buyers will still take the time to come to the market if prices fall significantly. So, I think there's going to a floor under the market, initially at $1,650, but I can't see a big fall to below $1,600." US gold for February was steady at $1,655.10 an ounce. Shares in Asia extended their gains to fresh two-month highs on Friday as solid euro zone sovereign debt sales and signs of Greece moving closer to a vital debt-swap deal eased concerns over Europe's refinancing capability and boosted risk appetite. Gold often tracks the fortunes of the euro and stocks because of its safe-haven status, which allows speculators to sell the metal for cash to cover losses in other markets, especially during the period of uncertainty in Europe. "Gold has gone up so much since the start of the new year, so there's profit taking. The Chinese guys are on the buying side. They have pushed up the market but I think at the higher-end, people are cautiously bullish," said a physical dealer in Hong Kong. "The funds are still wondering whether there will be a recession, or whether the crisis in Europe will spread." Silver tracked gold lower, as did platinum and palladium -- the two metals used in auto catalysts. General Motors Co reclaimed its title as the world's top selling automaker for the first time since 2007, after sales of more than 9 million vehicles globally in 2011. In the energy market, US oil futures held steady in early Asian trade on Friday as a rise in US gasoline inventories for the third straight week overshadowed optimism spurred by a fall to an almost four-year low in the number of Americans filing for new jobless benefits.