* Gold hits new record as dollar falls again

* Asian shares pick up after slow start

* Asian currencies firm as Obama set to discuss yuan in China (Repeats to more subscribers)

By Susan Fenton

HONG KONG, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high on Monday as investors hedged against a weak dollar while Asian shares edged higher after upbeat reports from U.S. retailers underpinned confidence the global economy is recovering.

Gold XAU= punched a record above $1,126 an ounce, and sending platinum to its highest level since September 2008, as the dollar .DXY dipped 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies, and on bullish forecast from U.S. investment fund BlackRock.

Markets are focused on U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to China that began on Sunday as he is expected to discuss China's yuan CNY=CFXS currency, which the U.S. believes is undervalued, with Chinese leaders.

Gold, which has gained 10 percent in the past 2-½ weeks, was further supported by forecast from investment fund BlackRock, a manager and advise to the U.S. Federal Reserve, that gold would rise further and central banks would be net buyers of gold this year. [ID:nSYD515286]

"The most recent break-out in the gold price in U.S. dollars has caused most gold prices to start trending higher at the same time," Evy Hambro, who runs two BlackRock commodities funds which are among the world's largest commodities funds, said in Sydney.