Nov 18 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Thursday, as the dollar eased and U.S. bond yields retreated from a three-week high, lifting bullion’s appeal. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,869.45 per ounce by 0046 GMT, after hitting a fresh over five-month peak on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures gained 0.1% to $1,871.50. * The dollar fell 0.1%, pulling away from a 16-month peak scaled on Wednesday. A weaker dollar reduces bullion’s cost to buyers holding other currencies.* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were modestly up on Thursday but retreated from a three-week high hit in the previous session, lowering non-yielding gold’s opportunity cost. * Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans on Wednesday reiterated that it will take until the middle of next year to complete the Fed’s wind-down of its bond-buying program even as the central bank checks to see if high inflation recedes as he expects. * British inflation has hit a 10-year high as household energy bills rocket, bolstering expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates in December. * The European Central Bank must be ready to rein in inflation in the euro zone if it proves more durable than forecast, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said.* A hike in rates should reduce bullion’s appeal as higher interest rates raises the non-interest bearing metal’s opportunity cost. * Indicative of sentiment, holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose about 0.1% to 976.87 tonnes on Wednesday. * Spot silver rose 0.2% to $25.11 per ounce. * Global silver demand will rise to 1.029 billion ounces this year, exceeding a billion ounces for the first time since 2015, the Silver Institute said in a report. * Platinum gained 0.3% to $1,059.98 and palladium rose 0.3% to $2,193.69. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)